Southern grasshopper mouse
The southern grasshopper mouse or scorpion mouse (Onychomys torridus) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.[2] It is found in Mexico and in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in the United States.[1] Notable for its resistance to venom, it routinely kills and eats Arizona bark scorpions, a species with a highly poisonous sting.
Description
The southern grasshopper mouse is a robust, medium-sized species with a short tail, growing to a total length of 120 to 163 mm (4.7 to 6.4 in). The head, back and sides are pinkish- or grayish-brown while the underparts are white, the two colors being distinctly separated. The tail is club-shaped, short and broad, the anterior part being the same color as the body and the tip being white.[3]
Biology
The southern grasshopper mouse feeds almost entirely on arthropods, such as beetles, grasshoppers and scorpions. Besides these, it preys on the little pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris) and the western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis).[3]
In the arid regions inhabited by the southern grasshopper mouse, the Arizona bark scorpion is plentiful and avoided by most predators because of the very painful sting it can inflict. The grasshopper mouse can feed on this scorpion with impunity even when the scorpion stings it repeatedly in the face.[4] Researchers have found that a neural mechanism is involved that blocks the sending of pain messages to the brain. This mouse can normally feel pain from other sources, but can be temporarily insensitive to these stimuli after a dose of venom from a bark scorpion.[4][5]
Females are able to produce several litters in a year but their reproductive life is short, few breeding successfully in their second year. The average litter size is 2.6 (range 1 to 5), produced after an average gestation period of 29 days. The young are born naked, with pink translucent skin. One day later the pigment is developing on the dorsal surface and by day ten, hairs 3 millimetres (0.12 in) long are present on the back. The eyes open on day 15 and solid food is being consumed by day 19. The females give birth to their first litter when four or five months old.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Linzey, A. V.; Timm, R.; Álvarez-Castañeda, S. T.; Castro-Arellano, I.; Lacher, T. (2008). "Onychomys torridus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ↑ Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1061. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 McCarty, Richard (1975). "Onychomys torridus". Mammalian Species 59: 1–5. doi:10.2307/3503863. JSTOR 3503863.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wade, Lizzie (24 October 2013). "Mouse impervious to scorpion's sting". Science. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Reardon, S. (1 November 2013). "Zoologger: Mouse eats scorpions and howls at the moon". NewScientist.
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| | | Baiomyini | |
- Southern Pygmy Mouse (B. musculus)
- Northern Pygmy Mouse (B. taylori)
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- Alston's Brown Mouse (S. teguina)
- Chiriqui Brown Mouse (S. xerampelinus)
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| Neotomini | |
- Subgenus Neotoma: White-throated Woodrat (N. albigula)
- Tamaulipan Woodrat (N. angustapalata)
- Bryant's Woodrat (N. bryanti)
- Nicaraguan Woodrat (N. chrysomelas)
- Arizona Woodrat (N. devia)
- Florida Woodrat (N. floridana )
- Goldman's Woodrat (N. goldmani)
- Desert Woodrat (N. lepida )
- White-toothed Woodrat (N. leucodon)
- Big-eared Woodrat (N. macrotis)
- Allegheny Woodrat (N. magister)
- Mexican Woodrat (N. mexicana)
- Southern Plains Woodrat (N. micropus)
- Nelson's Woodrat (N. nelsoni)
- Bolaños Woodrat(N. palatina)
- Stephen's Woodrat (N. stephensi)
- Subgenus Teanopus: Sonoran Woodrat (N. phenax)
- Subgenus Teonoma: Bushy-tailed Woodrat (N. cinerea)
- Dusky-footed Woodrat (N. fuscipes)
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| Xenomys |
- Magdalena Rat (X. nelsoni)
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| Hodomys |
- Allen's Wood Rat (H. alleni)
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- Goldman's Diminutive Woodrat (N. goldmani)
- Diminutive Woodrat (N. neotomodon)
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| Ochrotomyini | |
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| Reithrodontomyini | |
- californicus group: California Mouse (P. californicus)
- eremicus group: Cactus Mouse (P. eremicus)
- Angel Island Mouse (P. guardia)
- San Lorenzo Mouse (P. interparietalis)
- Dickey's Deer Mouse (P. dickeyi)
- False Canyon Mouse (P. pseudocrinitus)
- Eva's Desert Mouse (P. eva)
- Burt's Deer Mouse (P. caniceps)
- Mesquite Mouse (P. merriami)
- hooperi group: Hooper's Mouse (P. hooperi)
- leucopus group: White-footed Mouse (P. leucopus)
- Cotton Mouse (P. gossypinus)
- aztecus group: Aztec Mouse (P. aztecus)
- Gleaning Mouse (P. spicilegus)
- Winkelmann's Mouse (P. winkelmanni)
- boylii group: Brush Mouse (P. boylii)
- Nimble-Footed Mouse (P. levipes)
- Schmidly's Deer Mouse (P. schmidlyi)
- San Esteban Island Mouse (P. stephani)
- Texas Mouse (P. attwateri)
- Nayarit Mouse (P. simulus)
- Tres Marias Island Mouse (P. madrensis)
- White-Ankled Mouse (P. pectoralis)
- Chihuahuan Mouse (P. polius)
- melanophrys group: Plateau Mouse (P. melanophrys)
- Marsh Mouse (P. perfulvus)
- Puebla Deer Mouse (P. mekisturus)
- furvus group: Blackish Deer Mouse (P. furvus)
- El Carrizo Deer Mouse (P. ochraventer)
- Maya Mouse (P. mayensis)
- mexicanus group: Mexican Deer Mouse (P. mexicanus)
- Naked-Eared Deer Mouse (P. gymnotis)
- Guatemalan Deer Mouse (P. guatemalensis)
- Chiapan Deer Mouse (P. zarhynchus)
- Big Deer Mouse (P. grandis)
- Yucatan Deer Mouse (P. yucatanicus)
- Stirton's Deer Mouse (P. stirtoni)
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- Guerrero Harvest Mouse (R. bakeri)
- Short-nosed Harvest Mouse (R. brevirostris)
- Sonoran Harvest Mouse (R. burti)
- Volcano Harvest Mouse (R. chrysopsis)
- Chiriqui Harvest Mouse (R. creper)
- Darien Harvest Mouse (R. darienensis)
- Fulvous Harvest Mouse (R. fulvescens)
- Slender Harvest Mouse (R. gracilis)
- Hairy Harvest Mouse (R. hirsutus)
- Eastern Harvest Mouse (R. humulis)
- Western Harvest Mouse (R. megalotis)
- Mexican Harvest Mouse (R. mexicanus)
- Small-Toothed Harvest Mouse (R. microdon)
- Plains Harvest Mouse (R. montanus)
- R. musseri
- Nicaraguan Harvest Mouse (R. paradoxus)
- Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse (R. raviventris)
- Rodriguez's Harvest Mouse (R. rodriguezi)
- Cozumel Harvest Mouse (R. spectabilis)
- Sumichrast's Harvest Mouse (R. sumichrasti)
- Narrow-Nosed Harvest Mouse (R. tenuirostris)
- Zacatecas Harvest Mouse (R. zacatecae)
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| Neotomodon |
- Mexican Volcano Mouse (N. alstoni)
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- Yellow Isthmus Rat (I. flavidus)
- Mount Pirri Isthmus Rat (I. pirrensis)
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- Oaxaca Giant Deer Mouse (M. cryophilus)
- Nelson's Giant Deer Mouse (M. nelsoni)
- Thomas's Giant Deer Mouse (M. thomasi)
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- Chinanteco Deermouse (H. chinanteco)
- Delicate Deermouse (H. delicatulus)
- Ixtlán Deermouse (H. ixtlani)
- Zempoaltepec deermouse (H. lepturus)
- Crested-tailed Deermouse (H. lophurus)
- H. schmidlyi
- Jico Deermouse (H. simulatus)
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| Osgoodomys |
- Michoacan Deer Mouse (O. banderanus)
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