California pocket mouse
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The California pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus californicus'') is a species of nocturnal and primarily solitary
rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...
in the family
Heteromyidae 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 th ...
.


Distribution

''Chaetodipus californicus'' is native to
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
in the western United States and northern
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
state in north-western Mexico. It is found in habitats, such as California chaparral and woodlands, in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
throughout the Southern Sierra Nevada, Southern
California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. P ...
, and the
Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...
; and in Southern California and northern Baja California in the Peninsular Ranges. Eight known subspecies of ''C. californicus'' exist throughout its distribution''.'' They are ''C. c. californicus'', ''C. c. femoralis'', ''C. c. dispar'', ''C. c. mesopolius'', ''C. c. ochrus'', ''C. c. bernandinus'', ''C. c. bensoni'', and ''C. c. merinensis''. They can be found around Berkeley in Alameda Co.; Dulzura, San Diego Co.; Carpenteria, Santa Barbara Co.; Sierra San Pedro Martir, Baja California; Santiago Springs, Kern Co.; San Bernandino Mountains in San Bernandino Co.; Soledad, Monterey Co.; and Indian Harbor, Monterey Co. The distribution boundaries for the Southern subspecies are less well known than the Northern ones. Despite their relatively widespread over the majority of central and southern California, the known habitat of the Californian pocket mouse is shrinking due to climate change and other human activities such as residential development.


Description

The dental formula of ''Chaetodipus californicus'' is teeth in total. Its fur is brown on top and tan underneath with distinct white hairs, or spines, near the rump. The tail is dark on top, light underneath and tufted at the end. Females and males are about the same size, showing no sexual dimorphism. ''C. californicus'' is often mistaken for ''C. fallax'' (
San Diego pocket mouse The San Diego pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus fallax'') is a rodent species in the family Heteromyidae. It occupies the northern region of Baja California near San Diego extending into Mexico. Description The San Diego pocket mouse occupies the no ...
) which shares some of the same habitat but has smaller and rounder ears. Its total tail length is 190–235 mm, tail length is 102–143 mm, and weight is 18-29 g.


Diet

The California pocket mouse is mainly a granivore, feeding mainly on seeds. However, it also eats insects and leaves. Like all members of the Family
Heteromyidae 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 th ...
, ''C. californicus'' has external cheek pouches which it uses to store seeds.


See also

* California chaparral and woodlands *
Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...


References


Further reading

* Chaetodipus Mammals of Mexico Mammals of the United States Rodents of North America Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Fauna of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of Baja California Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Mammals described in 1889 Least concern biota of the United States Least concern biota of North America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Heteromyidae-stub