The narrow-skulled pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus artus'') 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 ...

. It is

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 else ...

to western

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 ...

, living west of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American ...

crest.

Description

The narrow-skulled pocket mouse is a medium-sized species growing to a length of about including a tail of about . Males are slightly larger than females. The skull is smaller and narrower than that of Goldman's pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus goldmani'') which is native to the same parts of Mexico. Apart from the skull, other features which distinguish it from Goldman's pocket mouse include a less hairy but more scaly tail with a wider dorsal stripe, a smaller total length, darker ears and darker, less-grizzled dorsal fur. In the drainage of the Rio Septentrion this species has a darker coat than elsewhere. The reason for this may lie in the fact that the soil is darker in this area and pale individuals are more easily spotted by diurnal

predators Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

. It feeds on seeds.

Distribution and habitat

The narrow-skulled pocket mouse is endemic to Mexico and is found in the states of Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango and Sinaloa. It is found in different habitats in different parts of its range. In Chihuahua it is restricted to rocky areas and canyons while in Durango it occurs in humid tropical forests on the western foothills of the

. In Sonora it occurs among

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...

(''Prosopis juliflora'') in sandy areas near the Rio Mayo, in the bottoms of gullies and on the verges of cultivated land and in northern Sinaloa it occurs at higher altitudes in more humid, short-tree woodland. Where it co-occurs with Goldman's pocket mouse it usually occupies more riverine habitats while Goldman's pocket mouse occupies drier places away from the rivers. Other mammals sharing its habitat include the

painted spiny pocket mouse The painted spiny pocket mouse (''Heteromys pictus'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in Mexico and the northern tip of Guatemala. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Liomys'', which is now recognized to be paraph ...

(''Liomys pictus''), the

Sinaloan pocket mouse The Sinaloan pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus pernix'') 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. This small ...

(''Chaetodipus pernix''), the

southern grasshopper mouse The southern grasshopper mouse or scorpion mouse (''Onychomys torridus'') is a species of predatory rodent in the family Cricetidae, native to Mexico and the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in the United States. Notab ...

(''Onychomys torridus''), the

white-throated woodrat The white-throated woodrat (''Neotoma albigula'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found from central Mexico north to Utah and Colorado in the United States. It is primarily a western species in the United States, extending ...

(''Neotoma albigula''), the cactus mouse (''Peromyscus eremicus'') and the antelope jackrabbit (''Lepus alleni'').

Conservation status

The narrow-skulled pocket mouse is common throughout much of its wide range and its total population size is presumed to be large. It is found in some protected areas but when it moves into agricultural land, it is at risk of

rodenticide Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, squirrels, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Despi ...

s being used to poison it. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has rated it as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q153587 Mammals described in 1900 Narrow-skulled Pocket Mouse Endemic mammals of Mexico Fauna of the Sierra Madre Occidental Taxonomy articles created by Polbot