California pocket mouse

Chaetodipus californicus is native to California in the western United States and northern Baja California state in north-western Mexico.[1] It is found in habitats, such as California chaparral and woodlands, in Southern California throughout the Southern Sierra Nevada, Southern California Coast Ranges, and the Transverse Ranges; and in Southern California and northern Baja California in the Peninsular Ranges.[1]

The dental formula of Chaetodipus californicus is 1.0.1.31.0.1.3 × 2 = 20 teeth in total.[2]

Its fur is brown on top and tan underneath with distinct white hairs, or spines, near the rump. The tail is dark on top, light underneath and tufted at the end. Females and males are about the same size, showing no sexual dimorphism. C. californicus is often mistaken for C. fallax (San Diego pocket mouse) which shares some of the same habitat but has smaller and rounder ears.[3] Its total tail length is 190–235 mm, tail length is 102–143 mm, and weight is 18-29 g.[4]

The California pocket mouse is mainly a granivore, feeding mainly on seeds. However, it also eats insects and leaves. Like all members of the Family Heteromyidae, C. californicus has external cheek pouches which it uses to store seeds.

• California chaparral and woodlands
• Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands

• 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.

• The IUCN Red List: Chaetodipus californicus (California Pocket Mouse)