Heteromys adspersus Peters 1874
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Heteromyidae
Heteromys
Heteromys adspersus

description: 2.
Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse
Heteromys adspersus
French: Souris-a-ajaboues du Panama / German: Panama-Stacheltaschenmaus / Spanish: Raton espinoso de Panama
Other common names: Peter's Spiny Pocket Mouse
Taxonomy. Heteromys adspersus Peters, 1874,
City of Panama, Panama.
In 2007, J. C. Hafner and colleagues confirmed paraphyly of Liomys relative to Heteromys, so they placed Liomys in synonymy with Heteromys. This species (formerly Liomys adspersus) and its sister species, H. salvini, form a clade that is basal to the other members of the genus and for which the subgeneric or generic name Schaeferia has been suggested. This clade is estimated to have diverged from the rest of the genus 15-2 million years ago, about the same time as divergence between kangaroo rats (Dipodomys) and kangaroo mice (Microdipodops) and initial radiation among the major species groups of silky pocket mice (Perognathus) and coarse-haired pocket mice (Chaetodipus). Monotypic.
Distribution. C Panama (principally on the Pacific versant).
Descriptive notes. Head—body mean 127 mm (males) and 123 mm (females), tail 107-148 mm (males) and 109-138 mm (females), ear mean 16 mm, hindfoot 22-34 mm (males) and 28-32 mm (females). No specific data are available for body weight. Male Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mice are significantly larger than females. It is a scansorial rodent, medium-sized for the genus, with coarse adult pelage having abundant stiff, flattened spine-like hairs on dorsal and lateral surfaces of body. Upper parts are usually chocolate brown to gray brown, interspersed with dark spines and orange hairs. There is no obvious buffy lateral line, and belly is yellowish white. Hairs on back are curled upward and are conspicuous above spines. Posterior parts of soles of hindfeet are sparsely haired, with six plantar tubercles; claw of second digit on hindfootis spoon-like, apparently an adaptation for digging. Tail is moderately haired, and darker on upper part. Cheekteeth have medium-high crowns, and lower premolar has two lophids. Auditory bullae are only moderately inflated. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 56 and FN = 84. The Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse is much larger than its phyletically and geographically closest congener, Salvin’s Spiny Pocket Mouse (H. salvini), which occurs ¢.300 km away in central Costa Rica and has FN = 86. Pelage color of the Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse is somewhat paler than that of Salvin’s Spiny Pocket Mouse.
Habitat. Semiarid savannas along the Pacific coast of western and central Panama below elevations of ¢.600 m, particularly in thornscrub, secondary growth, and weedy fields. The Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse is the most common rodent in a forest in the Panama Canal Zone, and it occurs in this vicinity in headwaters of the Caribbean drainage. Burrow systems are rather elaborate, with several entrances and storage chambers for seeds. The Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse is important in the life cycle of the bacterium Leptospira interrogans, causative agent of leptospirosis.
Food and Feeding. Diet of the Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse includes seeds, other plant material, and insects. It feeds on seeds of palms (Scheelea rostrata and Bactris balanoides, both Arecaceae). Seeds are transported in external, furlined cheek pouches and stored in the burrow or nearby shallow pits. Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mice can detect seeds by odor and can locate seeds buried in dung.
Breeding. The Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse produces an average of 1-4 litters/ year, with average litter size of 3-2 young (range of 2-4). Breeding season occurs in December—May. Life span in the wild is usually less than one year, although some individuals live for c.2 two years; survivorship is 28%.
Activity patterns. The Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse is nocturnal and active throughout the year. Males move around in their home range nearly twice as much as females during the breeding season, although home range sizes are about the same. Average and maximum distances between captures were significantly greater for males than females.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse is solitary, with home ranges oriented randomly with respect to members of the same or opposite sex and the same size in males and females (0-56 ha). They are probably promiscuous or effectively polygynous. Male size is a good indicator of dominance in the laboratory, and survivorship is higher in larger males in the field. Intrasexual aggression is significantly higher in males than females in the laboratory. Densities of the Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse fluctuate seasonally, averaging 10 ind/ha during the rainy season and one-half of that during the dry season. Recruitment of juveniles began in the dry season and peaked early in the rainy season.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Liomys adspersus).
Bibliography. Anderson & Gutiérrez (2009), Best (1993a), Genoways (1973), Gonzales et al. (2004), Hafner et al. (2007), Jones (1993), Samudio & Pino (2008a), Sanchez-Cordero & Fleming (1993), Williams et al. (1993).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Heteromyidae, pp. 170-233 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 195-196, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6611160