Peromyscus maniculatus es muy cute...
Pero, Perognathus parvus es muy cute también...
Quién es más cute?
To me, of course, Perognathus parvus, the Great Basin Pocket Mouse, es mucho más interesante. Peromyscus maniculatus, the Deer Mouse, while terribly cute, is one of the most common mice in California. But the GB pocket mouse is only found on the eastern edge of the state, in areas such as the sagebrush steppe of Modoc and Mono.
Plus, parvus is a pocket mouse! They have cheek pouches and little ears on big heads, like their relatives the kangaroo rats. That silky, shiny fur is also quite different than the deer mouse's soft pelage. Glad the cam caught the sheen - it's a key character when identifying some species.
Note that all the above photos are at the same crop, and thus the deer mouse and GB pocket mouse are basically the same size. The seeds are pine nuts, which also gives a size reference.
So? Quién es más cute?
In either case, both are definitely far cuter than Ricardo Montalban, Jack Lord, Lloyd Bridges and Fernando Llamas.
====
References:
- E. W. Jameson, Jr., and Hans J. Peeters, UCPress - Mammals of California
- Wikipedia - Great Basin Pocketmouse
- Wikipedia - Deer Mouse
- Wikipedia - Heteromyidae
- Saturday Night Live - Quién Es Más Macho? - on TV.com
- Saturday Night Live - Quién Es Más Macho? - on imdb.org
- Saturday Night Live - Quién Es Más Macho? - on SNL Transcripts
It's about relationships. There are cute photos of animals, e.g. cats in ballet skirts, but when one learns about the animal's behavior and life, then the attraction is complex and rich and a person's opinion about the animal, even a rattlesnake, may change. Most of us will never meet a Great Basin pocket mouse but through natural history blogs like yours, we can witness portions of their lives and therefore have a greater respect for them. Ooops, just saw the references to SNL - once again I may be in the cultural dark . . . and I still find the deer mouse cuter.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's a reference to an obscure old TV comedy skit, but your instinct is true. Context is everything. And I'm also being unfair to the GB pocket mouse, because the above is, by far, the absolute cutest P. maniculatus I've ever gotten.
Deleteprefiero el Peromyscus porque los ojos son lindos y me parecen mas grandes. pero estoy de acuerdo -- ¡los dos son muy cute!
ReplyDelete