Cactus Mouse
(Peromyscus eremicus)
The Cactus Mouse is a gray-brown, delicate, small sized mouse that occurs abundantly on the Etiwanda Fan. This is the smallest species of white-footed mouse that occurs on the fan. The Cactus Mouse is found in low desert scrub, and rocky foothill habitats with moderately open vegetation such as coastal sage scrub and alluvial fan sage scrub from southern California east into southern Nevada and western Arizona and south into Baja California and Mexico. There are 14 races of Brush Mouse. The local race is P. e. fraterculus.
Status: Not protected
Habitat: Desert scrub, coastal sage scrub, alluvial fan sage scrub, and rocky foothills
Diet: Insects and seeds
Mean* adult body length: 80.7 mm
Mean* adult tail length: 102.9 mm
Mean* adult hind foot length: 19.0 mm
Mean* adult ear length: 16.9 mm
*mean measurement of individuals captured in the San Bernardino Valley by Museum researchers
The graph below shows the activity periods of adults and immatures from 1999 through 2001. The adults are active year around and the immatures are present at different periods each year. Note that immature individuals grow to adult size and molt into adult pelage within a single breeding season.
Back to Mammals of the Etiwanda Fan
|