California Pocket Mouse
(Chaetodipus californicus)
The California Pocket Mouse is a yellow-brown heteromyid that occurs sporadically on the Etiwanda Fan. This is the largest pocket mouse that occurs on the Etiwanda Fan. The California Pocket Mouse is found in a variety of arid and semi-arid habitats in southern California south into Baja California. There are 8 races of California Pocket Mouse. The local race, C. c. bernardinus, is found in dense coastal sage scrub and chaparral.
Status: Not protected
Habitat: Chaparral, coastal sage scrub, alluvial fan sage scrub, and desert scrub
Diet: Seeds and some insects
Mean* adult body length: 85.1 mm
Mean* adult tail length: 127.4 mm
Mean* adult hind foot length: 24.1 mm
Mean* adult ear length: 12.9 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 all year and the immatures are present through the spring and summer. Note that immature individuals grow to adult size and molt into adult pelage within a single breeding season.
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