''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 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

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, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...

, 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 rat Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed thi ...

s' 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 elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

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

, and the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

. **''

Perognathus longimembris pacificus The Pacific pocket mouse, ''Perognathus longimembris pacificus'', is endemic to California. It lives in sandy coastal soils of the coastal sage scrub ecoregion. It eats seeds and some insects. It was believed to be extinct until 1993, when a smal ...

'' — Pacific pocket mouse, an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

to coastal

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, 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 po ...

. *'' Perognathus merriami'' — Merriam's pocket mouse *'' Perognathus parvus'' — Great Basin pocket mouse, native to the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

region. Sometimes members of the genus ''

Chaetodipus ''Chaetodipus'' is a genus of pocket mouse containing 17 species endemic to the United States and Mexico. Like other members of their family such as pocket mice in the genus ''Perognathus'', they are more closely related to pocket gophers than ...

'' 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