But, the breeding season can vary due to a few factors. Generally, the breeding season for the Pacific pocket mouse is the months April through July, peaking in the spring. Most females typically produce one litter per year, sizing from about two to eight pups occasionally, females may produce two litters in one year. The Pacific pocket mouse does not reproduce offspring in large quantities or at a high speed. There is relatively little information on the breeding biology of the Pacific pocket mouse. Other than during reproduction, they do not engage in direct social interactions often. Like other heteromyids, the Perognathus longimembris pacificus (Pacific pocket mouse) is generally asocial and solitary. The Pacific pocket mouse has been on the endangered species list since 1994. These ants invade the coastal sage scrub areas of the Pacific pocket mouse's habitat. Along with trying to avoid such predators they are also in danger because of the exotic Argentine ants. Predators such as a gray fox and feral or domestic cats threaten the survival of the Pacific pocket mouse. When they are not interacting with one another they are escaping predators that roam their habitat. Interactions are experienced within their own habitat. Pacific pocket mice normally only interact with their own species. A Pacific pocket mouse lives around seven years in captivity and about three to five years in the wild. They eat the seeds of grasses and forbs, and they also eat leafy material. During hibernation they feed on seed caches that are stored in their burrows. The Pacific pocket mouse is the smallest mammal that hibernates. Their habitat consists of coastal strand, coastal dunes, and coastal sage scrub growing on marine terraces. They are found in fine-grain or sandy areas that are close to the Pacific Ocean. They have not been recorded farther than 2.5 miles (4.0 km) away from the ocean. The Pacific pocket mouse is endemic to the immediate coast of southern California from Marina del Rey and El Segundo in Los Angeles County, south to the vicinity of the U.S.-Mexican border in San Diego County. Ī pocket mouse can have 8 to 10 pups (baby mice) every year. The tail of the pocket mouse is 2.125 inches (54.0 mm). Individuals range from 4.25 inches (108 mm) to 5.2 inches (130 mm) in length from the nose to the tip of the tail which makes them amongst the smallest subspecies of pocket mice. The young baby of a pocket mouse is called a “pinkie, kitten or pup.” The females are called “does” and the males are known as “bucks.” The pocket mouse group is called a “nest, colony, harvest, horde or mischief.” The skull and hind foot of the Pacific pocket mouse are almost the smallest of all the pocket mouse species. The soles of the hind feet are hairy, which are also the distinguishing marks on the Pacific pocket mouse (along with the two patches of hair that are lighter at the base of the ear). The tail can either be distinctly or indistinctly bicolored. There are typically two patches of hair that are lighter at the base of the ear, a distinguishing mark of the Pacific pocket mouse. The dorsal side of the pocket mouse is usually brown and pinkish while the ventral is usually white. The color of the Pacific pocket mouse is linked to the environment they live in, hence they are the color of the soil. The coats are spineless and bristle free. Most of the body is covered in fur that feels silky. It is now a federally listed Endangered animal species.Īs members of Heteromyidae-which consists of animals surviving on seeds and grain-Pacific pocket mice have fur-lined cheek pouches externally. It was believed to be extinct until 1993, when a small population was discovered. It lives in sandy coastal soils of the coastal sage scrub ecoregion. The Pacific pocket mouse, Perognathus longimembris pacificus, is endemic to California.
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