''Perognathus'' is a genus of pocket mouse. Like other members of their family 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.

Characteristics

The silky pocket mice are small animals with soft

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

, long tails, and small feet compared to other heteromyids. They have long claws which are used for digging burrows and sifting sandy substrates for seeds. They have also been found to steal seeds from kangaroo rats' dens. They store these seeds in large hairy external

cheek pouch Cheek pouches are pockets on both sides of the head of some mammals between the jaw and the cheek. They can be found on mammals including the platypus, some rodents, and most monkeys, as well as the marsupial koala. The cheek pouches of chipmunks ...

es. They are nocturnal and are found in arid habitats. They are not true

hibernators Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...

, but will go into

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 ...

and stay in their burrows for extended periods of time.

Species

*'' Perognathus alticola'' — White-eared pocket mouse *'' Perognathus amplus'' — Arizona pocket mouse *'' Perognathus fasciatus'' — Olive-backed pocket mouse *''

Perognathus flavescens The plains pocket mouse (''Perognathus flavescens'') is a heteromyid rodent of North America.Monk, R. Richard, and J. Knox Jones.Perognathus flavescens" Mammalian Species 525 (1996): 1-4. It ranges from southwestern Minnesota and southeastern N ...

'' — Plains pocket mouse *'' Perognathus flavus'' — Silky pocket mouse *'' Perognathus inornatus'' — San Joaquin pocket mouse,

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 ...

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 ...

. *'' Perognathus longimembris'' — Little pocket mouse, native to Northwestern Mexico,

, and the Southwestern United States. **'' Perognathus longimembris pacificus'' — Pacific pocket mouse, an endangered species

to coastal

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 ...

. *'' Perognathus merriami'' — Merriam's pocket mouse *'' Perognathus parvus'' — Great Basin pocket mouse, native to the Great Basin region. Sometimes members of the genus '' Chaetodipus'' are placed in ''Perognathus''.

Footnotes

References

*Duff, A. and A. Lawson. 2004. ''Mammals of the World A Checklist''. New Haven, Yale University Press. *Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. ''Walker's Mammals of the World'', 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936 pp. {{Taxonbar, from=Q923659 Rodent genera Rodents of North America Mammals described in 1839 Taxa named by Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied