Catalog Number: USNM 510851
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Mammals
Sex/Stage: Male; Adult
Preparation: Skin; Skull; Baculum/Baubellum
Collector(s): E. Roth
Year Collected: 1973
Locality: Migrino, 4 mi SE, 32 km SSE Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, North America
- Type: Roth, E. L. 1976 Aug 27. Journal of Mammalogy. 57: 562.
Sierra de la Laguna Dry Forests Habitat
This taxon is found in the Sierra de la Laguna dry forests ecoregion, which was once an isolated island, containing a large number of endemic species. After sufficient mountain uplift and the joining the Baja Peninsula mainland, this ecoregion underwent significant speciation, and is thus today high in species diversity; this portion of the peninsula contains the majority of the species found in the southern part of the Baja Peninsula. The region is shaped by a vast complex of granitic mountains, running southward from the Gulf of California to the Pacific. These mountains are dissected by valleys and canyons, and surrounded by vast plateaus.
The forest is transitional both with the pine oak forests at higher elevations, and with the xeric scrub at lower portions. The dry forest of Sierra de la Laguna is characterized by abundance of low trees and scrubs, and poor vertical stratification. The dominant tree species in the subtropical forest are Mauto (Lysiloma divaricatum), Palo Blanco (L. candida), Elephant Tree (Bursera microphylla) and Palo Zorrillo (Hesperalbizia occidentalis). Herbaceous elements are poorly developed, but their representatives are Caribe (Cnidoscolus angustidens), Spiny Aster (Chloracantha spinosa var. strictospinosa), Solanum spp., and cacti such as Biznaga (Ferocactus spp).
A number of reptilian taxa are found in the ecoregion, including: the endemic Baja California Rat Snake (Bogertophis rosaliae); Hunsaker's Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus hunsakeri); Belding's Orange-throated Whiptail (Cnemidophorus hyperythrus); Spiny Chuckwalla (Sauromalus hispidus NT); San Lucan Leaf-tailed Gecko (Phyllodactylus unctus NT); Baja California Night Snake (Hypsiglena slevini), a Mexican endemic rangeing from Bahía San Juanico, in the east-central Baja California Peninsula, southward continuously Cabo San Lucas (as well as on the island of Santa Margarita and on Cerralvo and Danzante islands in the Gulf of California; and Hunsaker's Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus hunsakeri), endemic to the Cape Region of Baja California Sur and the Gulf of California islands of Espiritu Santo, Gallo, Ballena and Partida Sur.
There are a number of mammalian species occurring in the Sierra de la Laguna dry forests. Among the mammals found here are: Eva's Desert Mouse (Peromyscus eva), endemic to Baja California Sur; Mexican Funnel-eared Bat (Natalus stramineus); the near-endemic Peninsular Bat (Myotis peninsularis EN), chiefly found in Baja California Sur; Dalquest's Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus dalquesti VU), known only from the Cape Region of Baja California Sur.
- C. Michael Hogan & World Wildlife Fund. 2013."Sierra de la Laguna dry forests". Encyclopedia of Earth, National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington DC ed.Mark McGinley.
- G. Ceballos. 1995. Vertebrate diversity in Neotropical decidous forests. Pages 195-220 in S.H. Bullock, H.A. Mooney, y E. Medina, editors, Seasonally dry tropical forests. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
San Lucan Xeric Scrub Habitat
This taxon is found in the San Lucan xeric scrub, an ecoregion situated at the southern-most part of the Baja Peninsula of Mexico; this diverse landscape of mountains, valleys, and plateaus is covered with a variety of species of xeric vegetation. This neotropical ecoregion is classifed within the Deserts and Xeric Scrublands biome. Plants and animals of this region evolved independently before the Baja Peninsula, a previous island during the Miocene, joined the mainland. An arid climate supports a number fauna and species, about ten percent which of which are endemic.
The ecoregion took shape in the Miocene as an isolated landform prior to joining the peninsula, and thus can be considered an biogeographical island of vegetation. This arid landscape is composed of a vast, rugged complex of granitic mountains, valleys, canyons, and plateaus. The ecoregion occupies the plateaus between the coast and the lower limits of the dry forests, which begin around 250 meters. Precipitation is about 400 millimetres annually.
Some elements of dry forest habitat are present in this ecoregion, but xeric elements are dominant and include Chain-link Cholla (Opuntia cholla); Elephant Tree (Bursera microphylla), at the southern limit of its range here and extending north to the Waterman Mountains in the USA; Mauto (Lysiloma divaricata); Organ Pipe Cactus (Stenocereus thuberi), Mala Mujer (Cnidoscolus angustidens), Yucca spp., and Barrel Cacti (Ferocactus spp). Herbaceous elements in the ecoregion include Plantago linearis, Bouteloua hirsuta, and Commelina coelestis.
The San Lucan xeric scrub harbours 31 of 48 of the reptile species for the Cape Region. Almost a third of the wider regional recorded species of collembola arthropods and spiders (30 of 138 species, respectively) occur in this ecoregion. In general, over ten percent of animal and plant species found here are endemic.
Within the San Lucan xeric scrub ecoregion, reptilian taxa include: the endemic Island Burrowing Sand Snake (Chilomeniscus punctatissimus); the endemic Isla Cerralvo Snake (Chilomeniscus savagei), restricted solely to Cerralvo Island; the Cape Arboreal Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus licki), a near-endemic restricted to the southern portion of the Baja Peninsula; the near-endemic Spiny Chuckwalla (Sauromalus hispidus NT), found only on Angel de la Guarda Island, Granito, Mejía, Pond, San Lorenzo Norte, San Lorenzo Sur, and other islands in Bahía de los Ángeles, including Cabeza de Caballo, La Ventana, Piojo, Flecha, Mitlàn, and Smith, Gulf of California; the near-endemic San Lucan Leaf-toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus unctus NT), found only on southern Baja Peninsula and some islands within the Gulf of California: Gallo, Partida Sur, Espiritu Santo, Ballena, Gallina and Cerralvo. There are only a small number of anuran species present in the ecoregion: Red-spotted Toad (Anaxyrus punctatus); and Pacific Chorus Frog (Pseudacris regilla).
The Espiritu Santo Island Antelope Squirrel (Ammospermophilus insularis) is endemic to the San Lucan xeric scrub ecoregion and is found only on the island of Espiritu Santo in the Gulf of California. Among threatened mammals occurring in the ecoregion are: the near-endemic Dalquest's Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus dalquesti VU), known from the Cape Region of the Baja California Peninsula.
Threatened mammals in the ecoregion include: the near-endemic Peninsular Myotis (Peninsular Myotis EN), found only on southern Baja Peninsula; Fish-eating Bat (Myotis vivesi VU), a near-endemic occurring chiefly on the near-shore islands off of the southern Baja Peninsula and mainland Sonora; Mexican Long-tongued Bat (Choeronycteris mexicana NT); and the Lesser Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae VU).
- C. Michael Hogan & World Wildlife Fund. 2013."San Lucan xeric scrub". Encyclopedia of Earth, National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington DC ed.Mark McGinley.
- Ted J. Case and Martin L. Cody. 1983. Island Biogeography in the Sea of Cortéz. University of California Press. 508 pages
Habitat and Ecology
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Statistics of barcoding coverage: Chaetodipus dalquesti
Public Records: 0
Specimens with Barcodes: 2
Species With Barcodes: 1
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Dalquest's pocket mouse
- Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T., Castro-Arellano, I. & Lacher, T. (2008). Chaetodipus dalquesti. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
- Patton, J. L. (2005). "Family Heteromyidae". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 853. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
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