''Chaetodipus'' is a genus of pocket mouse containing 17 species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Like other members of their family such as pocket mice in the genus ''

Perognathus ''Perognathus'' is a genus of pocket mouse. Like other members of their family they are more closely related to pocket gophers than to true mice. Characteristics The silky pocket mice are small animals with soft pelage, long tails, and small ...

'', they are more closely related to

pocket gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They are ...

s than to true

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

Characteristics

Members of this genus range in size from 80 to 125 mm (head and body) and weigh 15–47 grams (Nowak, 1999). Unlike the silky pocket mice (genus ''

''), most species of the genus ''Chaetodipus'' have harsh

pelage Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...

with some bordering on spiny hair. They tend to be found in arid habitats where they feed on seeds, vegetation, and insects (Nowak, 1999). Females give birth to a litter of 2–9 young after a

gestation period In mammals, pregnancy is the period of reproduction during which a female carries one or more live offspring from implantation in the uterus through gestation. It begins when a fertilized zygote implants in the female's uterus, and ends once it ...

of just under a month. The longest recorded life span is 8 years and 4 months (Nowak, 1999).

Species

*'' Chaetodipus arenarius'' – Little desert pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus artus'' – Narrow-skulled pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus baileyi'' – Bailey's pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus californicus'' – California pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus dalquesti'' – Dalquest's pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus eremicus'' – Chihuahuan pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus fallax'' – San Diego pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus formosus'' – Long-tailed pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus goldmani'' – Goldman's pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus hispidus'' – Hispid pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus intermedius'' – Rock pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus lineatus'' – Lined pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus nelsoni'' – Nelson's pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus penicillatus'' – Desert pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus pernix'' – Sinaloan pocket mouse *'' Chaetodipus rudinoris'' – Baja pocket mouse *''

Chaetodipus spinatus The spiny pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus spinatus'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae and order Rodentia. It is found in Baja California in Mexico and in Arizona, California and Nevada. Description The spiny pocket mouse has long ...

'' – Spiny pocket mouse Sometimes members of the genus ''Chaetodipus'' are placed in the genus ''

''.

Footnotes

References

*Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. ''Walker's Mammals of the World'', 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936 pp. Rodent genera Taxa named by Clinton Hart Merriam {{Heteromyidae-stub