Liomys irroratus

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• Classification Schemes
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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	RODENTIA	HETEROMYIDAE

Scientific Name:	Liomys irroratus
Species Authority:	(Gray, 1868)
Common Name/s: English – Mexican Spiny Pocket Mouse

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern     ver 3.1
Year Published:	2008
Assessor/s:	Linzey, A.V., Timm, R., Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T., Castro-Arellano, I. & Lacher, T.
Reviewer/s:	McKnight, M. (Global Mammal Assessment Team) & Amori, G. (Small Nonvolant Mammal Red List Authority)
Justification: This species is listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing in a threatened category.
History:	1996 – Lower Risk/least concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	From extreme south Texas, United States (just north of the Rio Grande River) southward throughout most of central Mexico (Patton 2005).
Countries:	Native: Mexico; United States (Texas)
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	It is common but limited (Wilson and Ruff 1999).
Population Trend:	Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:

It prefers dry shrubland habitat. Occupies dense brushy areas along ridges that are remnants of old banks of Rio Grande. Like other pocket mice, it forages for seeds and stores them in the fur-lined cheek pouches. In southern Texas, its diet includes seeds of hackberry, mesquite, and other shrubs. It is nocturnal, staying in burrows during the day. The entrance to the burrow is often covered with leaves or other vegetation, or with a small mound of soil. This species breeds throughout the year, but peak reproductive period appears to be during the fall or winter. The number of young varies from two to eight, with an average litter size of four (Wilson and Ruff 1999).

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):

None known.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:

There are no known conservation measures specific to this species. However, there are several protected areas within its range.

Bibliography [top]

Dowler, R. C. and Genoways, H. H. 1982. Liomys irroratus. Mammalian Species 82: 1-6. Patton, J. L. 2005. Family Heteromyidae. In: D.E. Wilson;D.M. Reeder (ed.), Mammal Species of the World, pp. 844-858. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA. Wilson, D. E. and Ruff, S. 1999. The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA.