| Most Pale Kangaroo Mice live in high, cold desert in Nevada; there is also a small population in eastern California. They look like small kangaroo rats, and like them, can hop on their large hind feet. They have a fur-lined pouch on each cheek, outside the mouth, which they use to carry seeds to their burrows for storage. They do almost all of their foraging at night, and escape bitter winter temperatures by hibernating. Their burrow systems are relatively simple. The Pale Kangaroo Mouse's back is pale pinkish-cinnamon in color. The Dark Kangaroo Mouse, not surprisingly, is darker: the fur on its back is brownish, blackish, or grayish.
Also known as:
Pallid Kangaroo Mouse
Sexual Dimorphism:
None
Length:
Average:
160 mm
Range:
150-173 mm
Weight:
Average:
13.5 g
Range:
10.3-16.8 g
References:
Merriam, C.H., 1901. Descriptions of three new kangaroo mice of the genus Microdipodops, p. 127. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 14:127-128.
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
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