Sinaloan pocket mouse: Difference between revisions
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==Description== |
==Description== |
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The Sinaloan pocket mouse is one of the smallest in the genus ''Chaetodipus'' with a total length of less than 200mm. Their skull is narrow with an elongated nose and medium sized ears. ''C. pernix'' has a thinly haired tail that is longer than the body length. Their coat color is variable, but always darker on the back and lighter on the sides and belly. Their diet consists of grains and seeds. The average litter size is seven.<ref name= BL1992>{{cite journal |author=Best TL, Lackey JA |title=Chaetodipus perix |journal=Mammalian species |number=420 |pages=1-3 |date=December 10, 1992 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3504184}}</ref> |
The Sinaloan pocket mouse is one of the smallest in the genus ''Chaetodipus'' with a total length of less than 200mm. Their skull is narrow with an elongated nose and medium sized ears. ''C. pernix'' has a thinly haired tail that is longer than the body length. Their coat color is variable, but always darker on the back and lighter on the sides and belly. Their diet consists of grains and seeds. The average litter size is seven.<ref name= BL1992>{{cite journal |author=Best TL, Lackey JA |title=Chaetodipus perix |journal=Mammalian species |number=420 |pages=1-3 |date=December 10, 1992 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3504184}}</ref> |
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'''Color Polymorphism''' |
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Many different coat colors, or [[Polymorphism (biology)|polymorphisms]], are seen between species of pocket mice and even within the same population. These differences in coat color are due to genetic variation and adapting to varying environments.<ref name= C2005>{{cite journal |author=Caro T |title=The Adaptive Significance of Coloration in Mammals |journal=BioScience |volume=55 |number=2 |pages=125-135 |date=February 2005 |url=http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org}}</ref> Many hypotheses exist for why there is so much variation between coat colors in mammals. In 2005 Caro explained color patterning using three main hypotheses: concealment, communication, and physiological processes.<ref name= C2005>{{cite journal |author=Caro T |title=The Adaptive Significance of Coloration in Mammals |journal=BioScience |volume=55 |number=2 |pages=125-135 |date=February 2005 |url=http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org}}</ref> |
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Coloration in pocket mice evolved mostly for concealment and physiological processes. The owl is the largest predator of pocket mice. Mice with coat colors that better match their environment have a better chance of going unnoticed by predators and surviving. This is why pocket mice living in different environments have different coat colors; to better blend with their surroundings.<ref name= C2005>{{cite journal |author=Caro T |title=The Adaptive Significance of Coloration in Mammals |journal=BioScience |volume=55 |number=2 |pages=125-135 |date=February 2005 |url=http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org}}</ref> The Sinaloan pocket mouse usually has a yellow-brown coat with black hairs because they live in a sandy environment under shrubs. This is very different from the Rock pocket mouse that usually has a grey or black coat color. <ref name= NHD>{{cite journal |author=Nachman MW, Hoekstra HE, D'Agostino SL |title=The genetic basis of adaptive melanism in pocket mice |journal=PNAS |volume=100 |number=9 |pages=5268-5273 |date=April 2003 |url=http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0431157100}}</ref> |
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==Range and Habitat== |
==Range and Habitat== |
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Revision as of 04:27, 31 October 2014
| Sinaloan pocket mouse | |
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| Species: | C. pernix
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| Chaetodipus pernix (J. A. Allen, 1898)
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The Sinaloan pocket mouse, C. pernix, is one of 17 species of pocket mice in the genus Chaetodipus.[2] Two subspecies of C. pernix are recognized, C. p. pernix and C. p. rostratus all are endemic to Mexico.[3]
This small mouse lives among shrubs and has a wide range of coat colors due to variations in the environment within a population.
Description
The Sinaloan pocket mouse is one of the smallest in the genus Chaetodipus with a total length of less than 200mm. Their skull is narrow with an elongated nose and medium sized ears. C. pernix has a thinly haired tail that is longer than the body length. Their coat color is variable, but always darker on the back and lighter on the sides and belly. Their diet consists of grains and seeds. The average litter size is seven.[3]
Color Polymorphism
Many different coat colors, or polymorphisms, are seen between species of pocket mice and even within the same population. These differences in coat color are due to genetic variation and adapting to varying environments.[4] Many hypotheses exist for why there is so much variation between coat colors in mammals. In 2005 Caro explained color patterning using three main hypotheses: concealment, communication, and physiological processes.[4]
Coloration in pocket mice evolved mostly for concealment and physiological processes. The owl is the largest predator of pocket mice. Mice with coat colors that better match their environment have a better chance of going unnoticed by predators and surviving. This is why pocket mice living in different environments have different coat colors; to better blend with their surroundings.[4] The Sinaloan pocket mouse usually has a yellow-brown coat with black hairs because they live in a sandy environment under shrubs. This is very different from the Rock pocket mouse that usually has a grey or black coat color. [5]
Range and Habitat
C. pernix mostly lives in the coastal plain of Sinaloa state within Mexico, which extends from Southern Sonora to Northern Nayarit. Their habitat consists mostly of small trees, shrubs, and cacti. Sinaloan pocket mice are found on sandy soil, living under low bushes or dense networks of vines and grasses.[3] Their habitat does not contain any rock material, unlike in its sister species, the rock pocket mouse.[6]
References
- ^ Template:IUCN2008 Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
- ^ Patton, J.L. (2005). "Genus Chaetodipus". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 853–856. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ a b c Best TL, Lackey JA (December 10, 1992). "Chaetodipus perix". Mammalian species (420): 1–3.
- ^ a b c Caro T (February 2005). "The Adaptive Significance of Coloration in Mammals". BioScience. 55 (2): 125–135.
- ^ Nachman MW, Hoekstra HE, D'Agostino SL (April 2003). "The genetic basis of adaptive melanism in pocket mice". PNAS. 100 (9): 5268–5273.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Perognathus intermedius".
- Patton, J. L. 2005. Family Heteromyidae. Pp. 844-858 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
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