South Dakota mammals

Hispid Pocket Mouse in South Dakota

Chaetodipus hispidus

Native to South Dakota S5 Secure in South Dakota

Not listed as nonindigenous in South Dakota by USGS NAS; native to its South Dakota 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.

Hispid pocket mouse standing on pale rocky ground at nightHispid pocket mouse crouched in dry grass and red soilHispid pocket mouse peering from grass at a burrow entrance
Photo: Juan Cruzado · CC-BY-SAHispid pocket mouse standing on pale rocky ground at nightPhoto: Sam Kieschnick · CC-BYHispid pocket mouse crouched in dry grass and red soilPhoto: Ben Machado · CC-BYHispid pocket mouse peering from grass at a burrow entrance

Hispid Pocket Mouse in South Dakota, by the numbers

Occasional in South Dakota 41st most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

51 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Hispid Pocket Mouse in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in June to August.

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

Monthly South Dakota records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April0
May1
June12
July14
August20
September3
October1
November0
December0

Monthly hispid pocket mouse occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in South Dakota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in South Dakota, with recorded sightings peaking in June–August.

Occurrence map

Where Hispid Pocket Mouse has been recorded in South Dakota

51 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

51 South Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Wind Cave National Park 1
Custer State Park 1
Sd Public Land 1

Protected places with the most hispid 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 South Dakota

CountyRecords
Pennington County 9
Stanley County 8
Fall River County 6
Jackson County 5
Perkins County 4
Meade County 3
Bennett County 3
Custer County 3
Walworth County 2
Buffalo County 2
Mellette County 1
Sully County 1
4 other counties 4

The complete county distribution, spread across 16 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Hispid pocket mouse takes its name from its coarse, bristly fur, and its South Dakota records cluster along the sandy river-bottom habitat of Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, and the Missouri National Recreational River, exactly the loose, well-drained soil this burrowing rodent needs for digging. NatureServe ranks the species S5, Secure, statewide.

Every logged sighting falls in August, a single-month spike that most likely reflects one concentrated trapping-survey effort rather than a true narrow activity window for a species active through the warmer months generally.

Hispid pocket mouse standing on pale rocky ground at night
Full species profile Hispid Pocket Mouse Chaetodipus hispidus Size 17–23 cm6.7–9.1 in Weight 30–47 g1.1–1.7 oz Lifespan 2 yr View the full profile

More mammals in South Dakota 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"