Silky pocket mouse

Silky pocket mouse
In Pinal County, Arizona
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Heteromyidae
Genus: Perognathus
Species:
P. flavus
Binomial name
Perognathus flavus
Baird, 1855
Silky pocket mouse distribution in brown

The silky pocket mouse (Perognathus flavus) is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. Like other members of the heteromyid family, they are more closely related to pocket gophers than to true mice.

Characteristics

The silky pocket mice are small animals with soft fur, long tails, and small feet compared to other heteromyids. They have long claws which they use for digging burrows and sifting sandy substrates for seeds. They have also been found to steal seeds from kangaroo rats' dens. Archived 2006-08-13 at the Wayback Machine They store these seeds in large hairy external cheek pouches. They are nocturnal and are found in arid habitats. They are not true hibernators, but will go into torpor and stay in their burrows for extended periods of time.

Further reading

  1. Duff, A. and A. Lawson. 2004. Mammals of the World A Checklist. New Haven, Yale University Press.
  2. Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936 pp. ISBN 0-8018-5789-9

References

  1. ↑ Lacher, T.; Timm, R.; Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Perognathus flavus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T16635A115135061. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T16635A22224550.en. Retrieved 25 June 2022. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
  2. ↑ Patton, J.L. (2005). "Family Heteromyidae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 857. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.