In fact, the plains pocket mouse is more closely related to pocket gophers than to any other rodent I caught! Heteromyidae includes kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, and pocket mice, though none are technically rats or mice. Those other rodents - northern grasshopper mouse, deer mouse, harvest mouse, voles - all belong to one taxonomic family Cricetidae (which includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings and New World rats and mice), whereas the plains pocket mouse is from the family Heteromyidae. The other crazy thing about the plains pocket mouse is that it is not closely related to any of the other rodents* that I caught. Furthermore, their habits also lend to water conservation pocket mice spend most of the day underground in burrows where it’s cooler and more humid, they plug their entrance holes to keep in moisture (and keep out predators), and they can change slow their metabolism (enter torpor) when it’s too hot or too cold. These adaptations help the plains pocket mice go for six weeks without water! Most of the moisture they need is obtained from seeds and their kidneys are extremely efficient. only a temporary undignified moment, and then back to the sandhills! Look at those cheek pouches! Remember, I was only holding this critter for a few seconds before I released it. If the pouches are fur-lined, then no spit wasted! The thought is that if pocket mice had a hamster-like pouch, then every time they spit out the seeds they were carrying they’d be wasting precious moisture. Pocket mice and their relatives (other pocket mice, kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice) are often associated with arid environments and these critters are all extremely water efficient. The diet of the plains pocket mice is almost entirely grass and weed seeds, and the pouches allow them to carry seeds back to their burrows and cache them.īased on what I read, it’s thought that the purpose of these pouches being fur-lined is to conserve spit. Fur-lined cheek pouches!!! Imagine if, when you opened your mouth, on each side there was a little fur-lined pouch that ran all the way back to almost your shoulders! Gives me the heebie jeebies to think about, but pretty awesome if you’re a pocket mouse. Photo by Chris HelzerĪrguably the sleekest and most adorable of the critters I caught, the most distinguishing feature of the plains pocket mouse (Perognathus flavescens) is its fur-lined cheek pouches. Top tends to be brown/buff-colored, with a yellowish line along its side and a white underbelly. So Cute! Notice the small eyes, small ears, and white dot under the ear. Hence, our objective was to estimate the timing of seasonal dormancy in a population of plains pocket mice in Iowa.The plains pocket mouse (Perognathus flavescens). We suspect that plains pocket mice in other populations north of Kansas enter dormancy in autumn however, the latest reported date of capture in Iowa is 7 September (Wilson et al. Geluso, University of Nebraska at Kearney, personal communication). For example, the latest date of capture is 11 November in Kansas (Reed and Choate 1986) and 26 November in Nebraska (K. From Kansas to Minnesota, the plains pocket mouse appears to enter dormancy in autumn. The plains pocket mouse likely hibernates throughout its range, but timing of dormancy varies among populations (Monk and Jones 1996). Pocket mice store food in their burrows and alternate between episodes of torpor and euthermia to make their stored food last throughout dormancy (French 1993). Many species of Perognathus are true hibernators and become seasonally dormant during winter (French 1993). 1996), little is known about its natural history in Iowa, including details of seasonal activity. Because this species is rarely captured in the state (Wilson et al. Due to loss of grassland habitat, the plains pocket mouse is currently listed as an Endangered Species in Iowa (Iowa Legislature 2009). This species reaches its easternmost limits in Iowa, where it has been documented from a limited number of grassland sites in eastern, central, and western parts of the state (Bowles 1975, Wilson et al. In the United States, the distribution of the plains pocket mouse extends from Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas through the Great Plains to North Dakota and Minnesota (Hall 1981). Abstract The plains pocket mouse, Perognathus flavescens, is a nocturnal granivore that inhabits friable soils in sparsely vegetated areas (Monk and Jones 1996).
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