27. Hispid Pocket Mouse Chaetodipus hispidus French: Souris-a-abajoues hérissée / German: Rauhaartaschenmaus / Spanish: Ratén de abazones hirsuto Taxonomy. Perognathus hispidus Baird, 1858, Charco Escondido, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Based on detailed sequencing of nDNA and mtDNA genes, C. hispidus is one of the three “ancient” clades of coarse-haired pocket mice. Three subspecies are recognized, following the 2012 revision by J. J. Andersen and J. E. Light. Subspecies and Distribution. C.h.hispidusBaird,1858—SWUSA,NE&NCMexico(GulfcoastofSTexas,NECoahuila,NENuevoLeon,Tamaulipas,andAltiplanoofECDurangoandNSanLuisPotositoHidalgo). C.h.conditiJ.A.Allen,1894—SWUSAandNMexico(C.h.DesertfromSEArizonaandSWNewMexico,CC.h.,toNCDurango). C. h. paradoxus Merriam, 1889 — WC USA (Great Plains of S North Dakota to E New Mexico, N & C Texas, and W Louisiana). Descriptive notes. Head-body 98-115 mm,tail 90-113 mm, ear mean 11 mm, hindfoot mean 24 mm; weight 30-47 g. There is no significant secondary sexual dimorphism. The Hispid Pocket Mouse is medium-sized to large-sized for the genus. Tail is slightly shorter than head-body length, well haired but not crested or tufted, with black dorsal stripe, buffy sides, and white underside. Pelage is hispid and harsh but lacks conspicuous spines on rump. Dorsal pelage color is ocherous or has an olive tone, and it is separated from white under parts by a distinct ocherous lateral stripe. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 34 and a FN = 64. Habitat. Variety of dry, grassland habitats, ranging from patches ofarid grassland in the Chihuahuan Desert and slightly into the Sonoran Desert, across the Llano Estacado of eastern New Mexico and Texas, and north in the Great Plains. The Hispid Pocket Mouseis distributed along desert grasslands on the western edge of the Mexican Plateau. It is most common in short-grass and open bunchgrass prairie. It is found in habitats with yucca (Yucca, Asparagaceae), ocotillo (Fouquieria, Fouquieriaceae), juniper (Juniperus, Cupressaceae), mesquite (Prosopis, Fabaceae), and cactus (Opuntia, Cactaceae). It apparently is not restricted to sandy soils and is also found in rocky or gravelly soils. Burrows of adults are branched tunnel systems with 2-3 entrances. Food and Feeding. Diet of the Hispid Pocket Mouse consists largely of seeds of shrubs, annuals, and grasses, but it also includes smaller amounts of green vegetation and insects. In the mesquite plains of Texas, seeds composed 81% of the diet, and shifted from mesquite, sunflower (Helianthus, Asteraceae), cacti (Mammalariaand Opuntia), and sagebrush (Artemisia, Asteraceae) in winter to seeds and leaves of mesquite, blanket flower (Gaillardia, Asteraceae), Opuntia, bluestem (Andropogon, Poaceae), and insects in spring. Food items are collected in external, furlined cheek pouches and transported back to burrows, where they are stored in burrow caches, sometimes in large quantities. Cheekpouch volume (1-4 cm?) is sufficient to meet an individual’s daily energy requirements in one maximum seed load. Stored seed caches appear to be adequate to allow overwintering in the burrow, even in the northern Great Plains, without hibernation and without storing fat. The Hispid Pocket Mouse does not need to drink water, subsisting entirely on water from its food and water produced as a byproduct of metabolism. Breeding. Breeding season of the Hispid Pocket Mouse in the Great Plains is spring to late summer, when females may bear two or more litters of 2-9 young each annually. Activity patterns. The Hispid Pocket Mouse is nocturnal and terrestrial, and it is active throughout the year, apparently even in winter (belowground) in the northern Great Plains, where it persists on seed caches. Laboratory studies indicate that it is capable of torpor; temperature at which it enters torpor varies with availability of food, with torpor being induced by food shortage at higher temperatures. Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Bibliography. Andersen & Light (2012), Aquino & Neiswenter (2014), Best (1993a), Ceballos & Oliva (2005), Linzey, Timm, Alvarez-Castafieda, Castro-Arellano & Lacher (2008m), Paulson (1988b), Williams et al. (1993), Zimmerman (1999b).

Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Heteromyidae, pp. 170-233 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 211, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6611160