The Great Basin pocket mouse (''Perognathus parvus'') is a species of

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 ...

.Williams, Daniel F.; Genoways, Hugh H.; Braun, Janet K. 1993. Taxonomy. In: Genoways, Hugh H.; Brown, James H. (eds.) ''Biology of the Heteromyidae''. Special Publication No. 10. The American Society of Mammalogists: 38–196 It is found in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the western

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 territori ...

Taxonomy

There are several subspecies of ''P. parvus''. SulentichSulentich, J. M. 1983. The systematics and evolution of the Perognathus parvus species group in southern California. Long Beach, CA: California State University. and Genoways and Brown classify the yellow-eared pocket mouse as ''P. p. xanthonus Grinell'', a subspecies of the Great Basin pocket mouse. However, Jones and othersJones, J. Knox, Jr.; Hoffmann, Robert S.; Rice, Dale W.; 1992. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers No. 146. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University, The Museum. classify the yellow-eared pocket mouse as a distinct species, ''P. xanthonotus'' (Grinnell).

Distribution

The Great Basin pocket mouse occurs in the

Columbia River Basin The Columbia River drainage basin is the drainage basin of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It covers . In common usage, the term often refers to a smaller area, generally the portion of the drainage basin th ...

and the Great Basin and adjacent lands. It is distributed from south-central British Columbia and eastern

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

south to southeastern

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 ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

and northern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and east to southeastern

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

.Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Distribution of subspecies is: *''Perognathus parvus bullatus'': (Durrant and Lee) – central and east-central

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

*''P. p. clarus'' (Goldman) – extreme southwestern Montana; southeastern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

; extreme north-central Utah; extreme southwestern Wyoming *''P. p. columbianus'' (Merriam) – central and southern Washington *''P. p. idahoensis'' (Goldman) – south-central Idaho *''P. p. laingi'' (Anderson) – south-central British Columbia *''P. p. lordi'' (Gray) – extreme south-central British Columbia; central and eastern Washington; northwestern Idaho *''P. p. mollipilosus'' (Coues) – south-central Oregon; north-central and northeastern California *''P. p. olivaceus'' (Merriam) – most of Nevada; eastern California; extreme southeastern Oregon; southern Idaho; western Colorado; the most widely distributed subspecies *''P. p. parvus'' (Peale) – southeastern Washington; central and eastern Oregon *''P. p. trumbullensis'' (Benson) – southern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

; northern Arizona *''P. p. yakimensis'' (Broadbooks) – south-central Washington The yellow-eared pocket mouse occurs on the eastern slope of the

Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwe ...

Kern County, California Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county s ...

.Hall, E. Raymond. 1981. The mammals of North America. 2nd ed. Volume I. New York: John Wiley & Sons It is not certain whether its distribution is disjunct or joins that of ''P. parvus olivaceus''.

Plant communities

The Great Basin pocket mouse occupies steppes and open, arid shrublands and woodlands. It most commonly occurs in

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an al ...

(''Artemisia'' spp.),

shadscale ''Atriplex confertifolia'', the shadscale or spiny saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, which is native to the western United States and northern Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Me ...

(''Atriplex confertifolia''), and other desert shrublands, and in pinyon-juniper (''Pinus-Juniperus'' spp.) woodland. On the eastern slope of the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada, it occurs in

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

(''P. ponderosa'') and Jeffrey pine (''P. jefferyi'') woodlands.

Riparian zones A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

may have larger concentrations of Great Basin pocket mice than upland areas.Cannings, Richard J. 1987. The breeding biology of northern saw-whet owls in southern British Columbia. In: Nero, Robert W.; Clark, Richard J.; Knapton, Richard J.; Hamre, R. H., eds. Biology and conservation of northern forest owls: Symposium proceedings; 1987 February 3–7; Winnipeg, MB. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-142. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: 193–198.Clary, Warren P.; Medin, Dean E. 1992. Vegetation, breeding bird, and small mammal biomass in two high-elevation sagebrush riparian habitats. In: Clary, Warren P.; McArthur, E. Durant; Bedunah, Don; Wambolt, Carl L., compilers. Proceedings—symposium on ecology and management of riparian shrub communities; 1991 May 29–31; Sun Valley, ID. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-289. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 100–110

Timing of major life events

In late fall and winter, Great Basin pocket mice remain in their burrows in a state of

torpor Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables animals to survive periods of reduced food availability. The term "torpor" can refer to the time ...

. They emerge from their burrows and mate in early spring. Males emerge slightly before females. In south-central Washington, Great Basin pocket mice emerged from March to April. Prebreeding enlargement of

ovaries The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. T ...

and

testes A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testoste ...

begins in winter in the complete darkness of the burrow. Following emergence from the burrow, the lengthening photoperiod of spring apparently triggers final enlargement and development of gonads for breeding. Access to succulent green vegetation in spring may enhance

reproductive success Reproductive success is an individual's production of offspring per breeding event or lifetime. This is not limited by the number of offspring produced by one individual, but also the reproductive success of these offspring themselves. Reproduct ...

of females. Captive female Great Basin pocket mice from eastern Washington fed

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

and seeds had significantly larger ovaries than control females fed only seeds. Great Basin pocket mice remain reproductively active through summer. Females produce one or two litters per year. Most first litters are delivered in May and second litters in August. Reports of average litter size have ranged from 3.9 in south-central Washington to 5.6 in Nevada.Hall, E. Raymond. 1946. ''Mammals of Nevada''. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press First-litter subadults first leave the natal burrow in early summer; subadults from the second litter first emerge in fall. In a 2-year study in south-central Washington, first-litter subadults first emerged in June, and second-litter subadults first emerged in October (1974) and November (1975). As it signals the beginning of the breeding season, photoperiod may often signal its end. In the laboratory, an artificial short day-long night summer photoperiod caused gonadal shrinkage in Great Basin pocket mice. A favorable diet apparently overrides this effect, however, extending the breeding season. In nature, Great Basin pocket mice remain reproductively active through fall in years of favorable plant production. Juveniles typically breed in their second year, but first-litter individuals may first reach breeding condition before winter when plant productivity is high. Great Basin pocket mice occupy open, arid terrain. They seek friable soil of a variety of textures for burrowing.Black, Hal L.; Frischknecht, Neil C. 1971. Relative abundance of mice on seeded sagebrush-grass range in relation to grazing. Res. Note INT-147. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment StationVerner, Jared; Boss, Allan S., tech. coords. 1980. California wildlife and their habitats: western Sierra Nevada. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-37. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station Home ranges of 7,060 to 9,630 square feet (656–895 sq m) have been reported for Great Basin pocket mice in British Columbia. Males may have larger home ranges than females. Average home ranges reported from south-central Washington are 23,030 square feet (2,140 sq m) and 33,640 square feet (3,125 sq m) for adult males and 15,564 square feet (1,446 sq m) for adult females. In big sagebrush habitat on the

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located roughly south of the city of Burns in Oregon's Harney Basin. Administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge area is roughly T-shaped with the sout ...

, Oregon, home ranges of adult males were significantly greater (p < 0.001) than home ranges of females. Reproductively active adult males had significantly (p < 0.05) larger home ranges than adult males with unenlarged testes. In

black greasewood ''Sarcobatus'' is a North American genus of two species of flowering plants, formerly considered to be a single species. Common names for ''S. vermiculatus'' include greasewood, seepwood, and saltbush. Traditionally, ''Sarcobatus'' has been ...

(''Sarcobatus vermiculatus'') habitat, however, there were no significant differences between male and female home ranges or between home ranges of reproductive and nonreproductive adult males.

Cover requirements

Great Basin pocket mice are nocturnal and use burrows for daytime cover. They also use burrows during periods of winter and summer torpor.Maser, Chris; Thomas, Jack Ward; Anderson, Ralph G. 1984. Wildlife habitats in managed rangelands—the Great Basin of southeastern Oregon: The relat. of terrestrial vertebrates to plant communities: Part 2. Appendices. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-172. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station; Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land ManagementMcAdoo, J. Kent; Klebenow, Donald A. 1979. Native faunal relationships in sagebrush ecosystems. In: The sagebrush ecosystem: a symposium: Proceedings; 1978 April; Logan, UT. Logan, UT: Utah State University, College of Natural Resources: 50–61 The winter burrow consists of a 3- to 6-foot- (0.9–1.8 m-) deep tunnel leading to a chamber lined with dry vegetation. The summer burrow is shallow. Except for mothers with young, the burrow is occupied by a single individual.Whitaker, John O. Jr. (1980). National Audubon Society field guide to North American mammals. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Food habits

Great Basin pocket mice consume primarily seeds, but eat some green vegetation. Prior to production of seeds, they also consume insects. Great Basin pocket mice do not use free water, they metabolize water from food. Pocket mice (''Perognathus'' spp.) and other heteromyids are scatterhoarders, caching seeds in shallow depressions and covering the seeds with soil. The seeds are primarily those of grass species, and some preferred forb species. Indian ricegrass (''Oryzopsis hymenoides''),

cheatgrass ''Bromus tectorum'', known as downy brome, drooping brome or cheatgrass, is a winter annual grass native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa, but has become invasive in many other areas. It now is present in most of Europe, southe ...

(''Bromus tectorum''), Russian-thistle (''Salsola kali''), antelope bitterbrush (''Purshia tridentata''),

pigweed Pigweed can mean any of a number of weedy plants which may be used as pig fodder: * ''Amaranthus'' species ** ''Amaranthus albus'', white pigweed, tumble pigweed ** ''Amaranthus blitoides'', prostrate pigweed ** '' Amaranthus californicus'', Calif ...

(''Amaranthus'' spp.), and

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

(''Brassica'' spp.) seeds are important Great Basin pocket mouse food items. In productive years, cheatgrass seeds formed a major portion of the diet of Great Basin pocket mice in southeastern Washington. Seeds of medusahead (''Taeniatherum caput-medusae'') were not used by Great Basin pocket mice in

Lassen County, California Lassen County () is a county in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,730. The county seat and only incorporated city is Susanville. Lassen County comprises the Susanville, Cali ...

, and areas with heavy medusahead invasion were avoided.Longland, William S. 1994. Seed use by desert granivores. In: Monsen, Stephen B.; Kitchen, Stanley G., compilers. Proceedings—ecology and management of annual rangelands; 1992 May 18–22; Boise, ID. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-313. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 233–237 Estimated seed intake of a Great Basin pocket mouse is from 4% to 10% of total body weight daily. Assuming a wholly cheatgrass diet, an individual requires 870 to 1,000 seeds per day in spring and summer, and about 750 seeds per day in fall. Estimated daily maintenance energy requirement ranges from a winter low of 2.4 kilocalories (males) and 2.6 kilocalories (females) to a high of 7.0 kilocalories (males) and 6.6 kilocalories (females) in spring. A total of about 1.8 to 2.1 ounces (50–60 g) of seed must be cached to meet the winter energy requirement. To conserve energy when food is scarce in summer, Great Basin pocket mice often enter a state of torpor that lasts a few hours. Great Basin pocket mice are fairly successful at finding buried seed caches, even those buried by other individuals. In a laboratory experiment, Great Basin pocket mice found Indian ricegrass seeds 17.5% of the time when researchers cached seeds 1.3 centimeters below ground; 42.5% of the time when seeds were cached 0.6 centimeter below ground; and 100% of the time when seeds were scattered on the soil surface.

Predators

Owls (

Tytonidae Barn-owls (family Tytonidae) are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls or typical owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs wit ...

and

Strigidae The true owls or typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species in 24 genera. The typical owl ...

), including

northern saw-whet owl The northern saw-whet owl (''Aegolius acadicus'') is a species of small owl in the family Strigidae. The species is native to North America. Saw-whet owls of the genus ''Aegolius'' are some of the smallest owl species in North America. They can ...

s (''Aegolius acadicus'') and

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...

s (''Speotyto cunicularia'') hawks (

Accipitridae The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-s ...

), coyotes (''Canis latrans''),Edwards, Loren Lee. 1975. Home range of the coyote in southern Idaho. Pocatello, ID: Idaho State University, Thesis foxes (''

Vulpes '' Vulpes '' is a genus of the sub-family Caninae. The members of this genus are colloquially referred to as true foxes, meaning they form a proper clade. The word " fox" occurs in the common names of all species of the genus, but also appea ...

'' and ''

Urocyon ''Urocyon'' (Greek: "tailed dog") is a genus of Canidae which includes the gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus'') and the island fox (''Urocyon littoralis''). These two fox species are found in the Western Hemisphere. Whole genome sequencing i ...

'' spp.),

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender b ...

s and skunks (Mustelidae), and snakes prey on Great Basin pocket mice.

References

{{Authority control Perognathus Fauna of the Great Basin Mouse, pocket, Great Basin Mouse, pocket, Great Basin Mammals described in 1848 Least concern biota of the United States Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Titian Peale