The rock pocket mouse also prefers rocky slopes in the desert, lava flows, and gravelly soils. Is found on rocky slopes and areas with boulders and rocks mixed in among the cacti and shrubs. The Arizona pocket mouse and the desert pocket mouse both inhabit the sandy, open desert with sparse vegetation of grasses, mesquites, creosote bushes, and a few cacti. The desert kangaroo rat is found in the driest parts of the Sonoran Desert, among sand dunes and creosote flats. Washes, open grassland, and sandy soils of the desertscrub. Merriam’s kangaroo rat is the most common and widespread kangaroo rat in the Sonoran Desert. It favors a sparse covering of grasses, interspersed with a few mesquite trees and cacti. The banner-tailed kangaroo rat lives in open desertscrub, creosote bush flats, open grasslands and sandy places. The long tail is tufted, with a ridge of fur running along its top. The rock pocket mouse is medium-sized (K to L ounce 11-18 g), with rough brownish-gray fur and spine-like hairs on its rump. It has a long, tufted tail and coarse, grayish fur, though the color can vary considerably. Bailey's pocket mouseīailey’s pocket mouse is the largest of the pocket mice, weighing up to 1K ounces (39 g). The tufted tail is long, and has a crest of fur forming a ridge along its length. The desert pocket mouse has buff to brownish, coarse fur, and a white underside. This mouse has tan- to orange-colored fur that is softer than that of many of the other species of pocket mice. The Arizona pocket mouse is a small mouse with a thinly-furred tail that does not have a brushy tip. The banner-tailed in size it also has a white tip on the tail, but its fur is Merriam’s kangaroo rat is only about half the size of the banner-tailed rat The tail is black towards the end, but has a white tip. It is light brown or buff-colored with a white underside. Tailed kangaroo rat is one of the largest kangaroo rats, weighing up to 4H ounces (128 g). (Some other species have 5 toes.) They also have large heads with big eyes, small ears and external, fur-lined cheek pouches. Spanish names: ratón (pocket mouse), rata canguro (kangaroo rat) Distinguishing featuresĪll three of these kangaroo rats have long tails and large hind feet with 4 toes. Rock pocket mouse (Chaetodipus intermedius)ĭesert pocket mouse (Chaetodipus penicillatus)īailey’s pocket mouse (Chaetodipus baileyi)īanner-tailed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys spectabilis)Įrriam’s kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami)īaja California kangaroo rat (Dipodomys peninsularis) Long-tailed pocket mouse (Perognathus formosus) Little pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris)Īrizona pocket mouse (Perognathus amplus) In this way many species of heteromyid mice and rats can share the same environment. Merriam’s kangaroo rat, a creature of open, creosote flats, tends to dash from one clump of bushes to the next, overlooking seeds out in the open spaces, leaving those for other mice to find. Bailey’s pocket mouse, for example, climbs up into desert wash vegetation to find seeds and berries still on the plants, while the desert pocket mouse hunts along the ground in washes and open areas for seeds. They also have efficient kidneys that can conserve precious fluids by concentrating the urine.īecause there are many of these little rodents and they are closely related to each other, each species has evolved with different foraging times and places, which minimizes competition. They are all well adapted to living in arid environments since Kangaroo rats and pocket mice are all nocturnal, burrowing animals withĮxternal fur-lined cheek pouches for storing and transporting the seeds that are Despite their names, they are neither rats nor mice and in spite of their mouse-like appearance, they are not closely related to any other species of North American rodent. The heteromyids are a group of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats and pocket mice.

Are mice nocturnal