pocket mouse

n. Any of various small nocturnal burrowing rodents of the genera Perognathus and Chaetodipus, found from western North America to northern South America and having fur-lined external cheek pouches, small ears, and a long tail.

pocket mouse

n (Animals) any small mouselike rodent with cheek pouches, of the genus Perognathus, of desert regions of W North America: family Heteromyidae

pock′et mouse`

n. any burrowing rodent of the family Heteromyidae, esp. of the genus Perognathus, of arid regions of W North America, having fur-lined cheek pouches and a long tail. [1880–85, Amer.]

Thesaurus

Noun

pocket mouse - any of various small nocturnal burrowing desert rodents with cheek pouches and long hind legs and tailpocket rat - any of various rodents with cheek pouchesfamily Heteromyidae, Heteromyidae - small New World burrowing mouselike rodents with fur-lined cheek pouches and hind limbs and tail adapted to leaping; adapted to desert conditions: pocket mice; kangaroo mice; kangaroo ratsPerognathus flavus, silky pocket mouse - small pale yellowish soft-furred rodent of southwestern United States and MexicoPerognathus flavescens, plains pocket mouse - small rodent of open areas of United States plains stateshispid pocket mouse, Perognathus hispidus - large stiff-haired rodent of shortgrass prairies of United StatesLiomys irroratus, Mexican pocket mouse - large pocket mouse of Mexico

pocket mouse

pocket mouse,

small jumping rodent of W North America and as far south as N South America. More closely related to the squirrel than the true mouse, the pocket mouse gets its name from the fur-lined cheek pouches in which it carries its food. It varies in length from 3 to 12 in. (7.6–30.5 cm) according to the species and has hind legs elongated for jumping. Species of the genus Perognathus are soft furred; species of the genera Liomys and Heteromys have stiff, flattened spines mixed in with the fur. The pocket mouse is a solitary, nocturnal animal, living in grass-lined burrows in desert and semidesert regions; one Heteromys species lives in humid forests. The rodent feeds on seeds and other vegetable matter. It can live for long periods without free water by utilizing the moisture available from food and its own digestive processes and by secreting concentrated urine. Females give birth to several litters a year, each litter containing from one to eight young. Gestation takes from 24 to 33 days. Pocket mice have many natural enemies but in captivity have lived as long as five years. They are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia, family Heteromyidae.

pocket mouse

Related to pocket mouse: kangaroo rat

noun

Words related to pocket mouse

noun any of various small nocturnal burrowing desert rodents with cheek pouches and long hind legs and tail

Related Words

pocket rat
family Heteromyidae
Heteromyidae
Perognathus flavus
silky pocket mouse
Perognathus flavescens
plains pocket mouse
hispid pocket mouse
Perognathus hispidus
Liomys irroratus
Mexican pocket mouse