need some mammal id help please- mostly california
alpine, lodgepole, taken at 11kfeet on trail to mt. whitney
another picture of the grand canyon chipmunk
thinking deer mouse- taken about 10 miles from southern entrance of carrizo plain
taken near visitor center of south rim grand canyon- close to trees but in an open area. Uinta?
this and the previous one are terrible pics but thinking maybe harbor porpoise bc of odd shaped beak. taken from point fermin san pedro, ca.
this and previous from near pond 1 at sjws in irvine
about 15 miles from southern entrance of carrizo plain on soda lake road
merriams? from desert tortoise natural area
near visitor center of Carrizo plain
right at train station in mojave national preserve
heermans? wind wolves access road near maricopa
heermans? wind wolves access road
curious about this cute little mouse, about 10-15 miles off of highway 15 on main road. Previous three pics are same mouse
this and the next two are from the same session, there were 2 mice but didn’t get them at same time. near bluffs at point vicente in palos verdes ca
near redondo beach bluffs near pier
terrible pics but interesting looking rodent-near pupfish pond at anza borrego palm canyon area
this and the prevous two are of the same mouse. from desert tortoise natural area
from anza borrego near palm canyon camp
8 Comments
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Gary Skipper
Hello Venkat,
Thank you so much for your help with these. number 15 was very tiny, I was originally thinking long tailed pocket mouse. Number 1 was an open area but wasn’t above timberline, there were trees around but not right where it was. Number 3- I have another photo that might help. I feel like the only choice for number 4 must be pwsd. It was only visible for a few seconds and barely came up twice(hence the terrible pics) before disappearing. Number 7 was smaller I think than the heermans seen at wind wolves if that helps. Anyway thank you so much!
Gary
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Venkat Sankar
Thanks Gary, always happy to help with the IDs. I still think #1 is Lodgepole, Alpine has basically become confined to areas above timberline by climate change and is being outcompeted in most areas by Lodgepole.
From your new photo, I’m slightly more confident calling #3 Cliff as it’s pretty dull and grayish but still not sure as I can’t really see back stripes.
#7 is likely Merriam’s if it’s smaller than Heermann’s.
If you say #15 was very small, then it’s Long-tailed PM. Smooth, glossy fur and long ears are characteristic of this one too. C. rudinoris should be much larger, almost approaching the size of Merriam’s k-rat.
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Gary Skipper
Thank you so much Jeff, Vladimir, and Charles! The PWSD only came up for two short breaths that I could see and then disappeared. I couldn’t get good pictures but It was unlike any other dolphin I have seen and have been very curious. I feel like in this area it has to be pwsd since everyone has confirmed it’s wrong for porpoise.
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Venkat Sankar
OK I’ll give these a try, but ID’ing most of these from photos is pretty hard so no guarantees as to the accuracy.
1. I think it’s Lodgepole Chipmunk. From the angle given, it looks a bit too dark and colorful with the rufous flanks and has a longer tail. Alpine should be very pale with a comparatively short tail. But shadows could be making it darker than it is. The best way is habitat–was it in timberline pine forest (Lodgepole), or treeless alpine fell-fields (Alpine)?
2. Deer Mouse (P. maniculatus) looks good for #2. By far the most likely Peromyscus in that grassland habitat too.
3. I would guess Cliff as that’s the one you mostly see right on the S rim but having a hard time seeing the sides/back which would be best for ID. I can’t see side stripes which I should see on Uinta even in the limited part of the side visible (it looks quite gray too which would support Cliff). But nowhere near confident on this, so a big “maybe.”
4. Can’t see it properly, but the fin shape looks a little off for Harbor Porpoise. Maybe someone else will have other ideas. Could even be something like Pacific White-sided Dolphin but perhaps the color pattern I see is just spray (at any rate that’s rarely seen from shore so probably unlikely).
5. Looks like some introduced Old World rodent to me, maybe Rattus.
6. Probably Heermann’s k-rat.
7. Could be Merriam’s, but Panamint is an alternative ID as that’s also common in that area. Size would be the way to tell those apart.
8. Probably Giant k-rat.
9. Looks pretty pale and I think has a white-tipped tail (but not sure from the photo), so I guess Desert k-rat.
10 and 11. Heermann’s k-rat is the only sp. at Wind Wolves entrance rd I think.
12. A baby Chaetodipus pocket mouse. Seems to have pretty coarse hair so maybe Desert Pocket Mouse. Though could be something like Spiny, not sure if the spines come in yet in babies.
13 and 14. I think Mus musculus.
15. Some Chaetodipus pocket mouse. Hard to gauge size. The best fits seem to be C. formosus (medium) and C. rudinoris (big). It kinda looks C. rudinoris, IMO with smooth shiny fur and long ears (as well as right habitat in that alluvial fan below the canyon).
16. Little Pocket Mouse (Perognathus longimembris). Actually quite common around Desert Tortoise NA, Red Rock Canyon SP, etc.
17. A Chaetodipus pocket mouse. No clue which one.