Nevada mammals

Desert Pocket Mouse in Nevada

Chaetodipus penicillatus

Native to Nevada S1 Critically Imperiled in Nevada

Not listed as nonindigenous in Nevada by USGS NAS; native to its Nevada range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Desert Pocket Mouse in Nevada, by the numbers

Rare in Nevada 97th most recorded of 142 mammals logged in Nevada

146 occurrence records
14 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 26, 2026 Last seen in Nevada

Records from 2000–2026.

146 total records count every Nevada occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 132; the monthly chart covers the 132 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Desert Pocket Mouse in Nevada

Most sightings fall in April.

132 Nevada occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Nevada records (table)
MonthRecords
January22
February0
March0
April29
May6
June27
July2
August16
September2
October27
November1
December0

Monthly desert pocket mouse occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Nevada, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Nevada, with recorded sightings peaking in April, with a smaller rise in June and October.

Occurrence map

Where Desert Pocket Mouse has been recorded in Nevada

132 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

132 Nevada records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Lake Mead National Recreation Area 26
Jimbilnan Wilderness Area 4
Gold Butte National Monument 1

Protected places with the most desert pocket mouse sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Nevada

CountyRecords
Clark County 132
Other localities 14

The complete county distribution, spread across 1 Nevada counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Nevada records for the desert pocket mouse are anchored by Desert National Wildlife Refuge and Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. They show where people have reported it, not how many animals live there.

These sites place the Nevada record pattern firmly in the state’s southern desert country. The protected lands also span springs, canyons, and open basin terrain. The monthly pattern is fairly spread out rather than confined to one Nevada season. It tracks observer records and shouldn’t be read as a population count.

The file combines 14 research-grade iNaturalist records and 142 GBIF records. Those 156 records measure documented encounters, not Nevada’s population size. It’s native to Nevada. Nevada doesn’t specifically list it under the state’s conservation framework, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

More mammals in Nevada in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"