View source for Panamanian spiny pocket mouse

{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Panamanian spiny pocket mouse
| image =
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Roach, N. |author2=Naylor, L. |date=2016 |title=''Heteromys adspersus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T12073A22225128 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T12073A22225128.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Heteromys
| species = adspersus
| authority = [[Wilhelm Peters|Peters]], 1874
|range_map=Heteromys adspersus distribution map.png
}}
The '''Panamanian spiny pocket mouse''' ('''''Heteromys adspersus'''''), also known as '''Peter's spiny pocket mouse''', is a species of [[Heteromyidae|heteromyid]] rodent [[endemic]] to [[Panama]]. It is very closely related to [[Salvin's spiny pocket mouse]], and has been placed in the same [[species group]] by some authors.<ref name=Gonzales2004/> It was formerly placed in the genus ''Liomys'', which is now recognized to be [[paraphyletic]] and has been subsumed into ''[[Heteromys]]''.<ref name=Hafner2007>{{cite journal|last1=Hafner|first1=J. C.|last2=Light|first2=J. E.|last3=Hafner|first3=D. J.|last4=Hafner|first4=M. S.|last5=Reddington|first5=E.|last6=Rogers|first6=D. S.|last7=Riddle|first7=B. R.|title=Basal Clades and Molecular Systematics of Heteromyid Rodents|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=88|issue=5|date=2007-10-18|pages=1129–1145|doi=10.1644/06-MAMM-A-413R1.1|doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Description==
The Panamanian spiny pocket mouse is very similar in appearance to other species of its genus. Adults range from {{convert|22|to|28|cm}} in total length, including a tail {{convert|10|to|15|cm}} in length, with males being larger than females. The animal has chocolate to greyish brown fur, with yellowish underparts and limbs. Over the flanks and upper parts of the body, the brown fur is interspersed with darker spines and occasional orange hairs. The tail has a moderate covering of hair, and is darker on the upper than on the lower surface.<ref name=Gonzales2004>{{cite journal | author = Gonzales, M.V.| year = 2004 | title = ''Liomys adspersus'' | journal = Mammalian Species | volume = 759 | pages = Number 759: pp. 1–3 | doi = 10.1644/759|display-authors=etal| doi-access = free }}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat==
Panamanian spiny pocket mice are found only in southern and western Panama, along the Pacific coast between [[David, Chiriquí|David]] and [[Chepo, Panamá Province|Chepo]], and inland as far as the headwaters of rivers flowing into the Atlantic. It inhabits hilly scrubland, secondary forests and semi-arid savannah country below about {{convert|600|m}}.<ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021" /><ref name=Gonzales2004/>
==Behaviour and biology==
Panamanian spiny pocket mice are nocturnal, and feed mainly on the nuts of palm trees such as ''[[Bactris]]'' and ''[[Attalea (plant)|Attalea]]'', although they also eat other plant material and some insects.<ref name=Fleming1970>{{cite journal | author = Fleming, T.H. | year = 1970 | title = Notes on the rodent faunas of two Panamanian forests | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 51 | issue = 3 | jstor=1378388 | pages = 473–490 | doi=10.2307/1378388}}</ref> They spend the day sleeping in burrows, which have multiple entrances and are also used to store seeds. They locate their food primarily by scent, and are able to carry seeds in their cheek pouches. They are solitary, inhabiting home ranges averaging just {{convert|0.56|ha}}. Although aggressive when kept together in captivity, in the wild they may reach population densities of up to {{convert|11|/ha}}, with significant overlap between home ranges.<ref name=Gonzales2004/>
Breeding takes place between December and May, in the dry and early wet seasons. Females give birth to one or two litters of two to four pups each year. Few individuals survive for more than a year in the wild, although a maximum lifespan of eighteen months has been recorded.<ref name=Gonzales2004/>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{H. Heteromyinae nav}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q94503}}
[[Category:Heteromys]]
[[Category:Rodents of Central America]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1874]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters]]
[[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]]
[[Category:Isthmian–Pacific moist forests]]