Goldman's pocket mouse

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Goldman's pocket mouse
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Heteromyidae
Genus: Chaetodipus
Species:
C. goldmani
Binomial name
Chaetodipus goldmani
(Osgood, 1900)

Goldman's pocket mouse (Chaetodipus goldmani) is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. [2] It is endemic to Mexico, where it is threatened by the increasing conversion of its dry, scrubby habitat into agricultural land. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "near threatened".

Contents

Description

A medium-sized rodent, Goldman's pocket mouse has a head-and-body length of 88 mm (3.5 in) and a tail length of 106 mm (4.2 in). The ears are black with white flecks, with the hind edges being whitish; there is a pale spot just below the ear. The upper parts of this mouse are brown, the rump being a little darker than the back, while the underparts are creamy-white. The tail is dark above and pale below. A population inhabiting an area of lava fields near Moctezuma, Sonora is darker than other populations. Other pocket mice inhabiting this part of Mexico with which Goldman's pocket mouse could be confused include the Sinaloan pocket mouse (Chaetodipus pernix), which is smaller, and Bailey's pocket mouse (Chaetodipus baileyi), which has darker dorsal fur. [3]

Distribution and habitat

The species is endemic to Mexico, where its range extends from northeastern and southeastern Sonora, through southwestern Chihuahua to northern Sinaloa in the strip of land to the west of the Sierra Madre Occidental. It occurs in dry thorny, scrubby areas, in arroyos, in sandy areas with mesquite and on cultivated land. [1]

Ecology

Little is known of the diet of this mouse, but it is known that it consumes grass seeds. Nor have its reproductive habits been studied but they are likely to be similar to C. pernix which breeds between October and April with a litter size of typically seven. [3]

Status

C. goldmani is not common, and the population trend is thought to be downwards. The chief threat it faces is the conversion of its natural habitat to agricultural land. It is able to adapt to farmland but suffers from the increasing use there of rodenticides to control pests. [1] For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the conservation status of this mouse as "near threatened". [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heteromyidae</span> Family of rodents

Heteromyidae is a family of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice and spiny pocket mice. Most heteromyids live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, though species within the genus Heteromys are also found in forests and their range extends down as far as northern South America. They feed mostly on seeds and other plant parts, which they carry in their fur-lined cheek pouches to their burrows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perognathinae</span> Subfamily of rodents

Perognathinae is a subfamily of rodents consisting of two genera of pocket mice. Most species live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, They feed mostly on seeds and other plant parts, which they carry in their fur-lined cheek pouches to their burrows.

<i>Chaetodipus</i> Genus of mammals belonging to the kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, and pocket mice family of rodents

Chaetodipus is a genus of pocket mouse containing 17 species endemic to the United States and Mexico. Like other members of their family such as pocket mice in the genus Perognathus, they are more closely related to pocket gophers than to true mice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The desert pocket mouse is a North American species of heteromyid rodent found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. True to its common name, the medium-sized desert pocket mouse prefers sandy, sparsely vegetated desert environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little desert pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The little desert pocket mouse is a species of small rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to Baja California in Mexico.

The narrow-skulled pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to western Mexico, living west of the Sierra Madre Occidental crest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bailey's pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

Bailey's pocket mouse is a species of rodent of the subfamily Perognathinae, family Heteromyidae. It is found in Baja California, Sinaloa and Sonora in Mexico and in California, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The California pocket mouse is a species of nocturnal and primarily solitary rodent in the family Heteromyidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The San Diego pocket mouse is a rodent species in the family Heteromyidae. It occupies the northern region of Baja California near San Diego extending into Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The long-tailed pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah in the United States and Baja California in Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson's pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

Nelson's pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in Mexico and in New Mexico and Texas in United States. It is named in honor of the American naturalist Edward William Nelson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinaloan pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The Sinaloan pocket mouse is one of 17 species of pocket mice in the genus Chaetodipus. Two subspecies of C. pernix are recognized, C. p. pernix and C. p. rostratus, all are endemic to Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican spiny pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The Mexican spiny pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is native to Mexico and Texas in the United States where it is found in dry, scrubby habitats. The IUCN has assessed it as being of "least concern". It was formerly placed in the genus Liomys, which is now recognized to be paraphyletic and has been subsumed into Heteromys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Joaquin pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The San Joaquin pocket mouse or Salinas pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to California in the United States where it lives in desert and semi-desert habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The little pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in Baja California and Sonora in Mexico and in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah in the United States. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is a common species and faces no particular threats and the IUCN has listed it as being of "least concern".

Dalquest's pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae, although it is now generally treated as a subspecies of Chaetodipus ammophilus. It is endemic to Mexico. The pocket mouse is named after Walter W. Dalquest (1917-2000), an American zoologist associated with the American Museum of Natural History and Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chihuahuan pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The Chihuahuan pocket mouse is a species of heteromyid rodent found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the desert pocket mouse, but was determined to be a distinct species in 1996, following analysis of its mitochondrial DNA.

The Baja pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. The species occurs in southern California, Baja California and on islands in the Gulf of California.

The lined pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. This pocket mouse is endemic to a small area of central Mexico.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lacher, T.; Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T. (2019). "Chaetodipus goldmani". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T4332A22226182. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T4332A22226182.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  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. 854. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  3. 1 2 Ceballos, Gerardo (2014). Mammals of Mexico. JHU Press. pp. 228–229. ISBN   978-1-4214-0843-9.