Animal Life in the Yosemite
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THE MAMMALS

MONO KANGAROO MOUSE. Microdipodops polionotus Grinnell

Field characters.—Body size about that of House Mouse; tail about equal to head and body, smoothly haired, but without any tuft; forefeet normal, hind feet relatively large; a fur-lined pouch on each cheek opening alongside of mouth; ears small and rounded. (See pl. 26d). Head and body 2-1/2 to 3-1/3 inches (64-83 mm.), tail 2-5/6 to 3-1/2 inches (72-88 mm.), hind foot about 1 inch (23-25 mm.), ear from crown 1/3 inch (8-10 mm.); weight about 3/8 ounce (10.6-12.5 grams). General coloration above sandy buff; whole under surface pure white.

Occurrence.—Recorded from Yosemite section only at old Salmon ranch near Mono Lake, east of Sierra Nevada. Lives in dry sandy areas, making burrows in ground at bases of bushes. Nocturnal.

The Mono Kangaroo Mouse is an inhabitant of the dry Great Basin territory east of the Sierra Nevada. It was found by our party at only one locality, near the old Salmon ranch adjacent to Mono Lake. Four specimens were taken on the night of June 19, 1916, in a dry sandy area a hundred yards or more up from the lake margin. Other areas which to the naturalist's eye were exactly the same as to soil, slope exposure, and flora were unproductive when tested by trapping.



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Animal Life in the Yosemite
©1924, University of California Press
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

grinnell/mammals50.htm — 19-Jan-2006