Nevada mammals

Long-tailed Pocket Mouse in Nevada

Chaetodipus formosus

Native to Nevada S5 Secure 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.

Long-tailed pocket mouse perched on a flat rock, whiskers fanned forward and one eye alert, desert gravel in the backgroundLong-tailed pocket mouse foraging head-down on desert gravel, long tail extended behindAI-generated image: Long-tailed pocket mouse sitting upright on desert gravel at dusk. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
Photo: Clay Gibbons · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed pocket mouse perched on a flat rock, whiskers fanned forward and one eye alert, desert gravel in the backgroundPhoto: Clay Gibbons · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed pocket mouse foraging head-down on desert gravel, long tail extended behindAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyLong-tailed pocket mouse sitting upright on desert gravel at dusk

Long-tailed Pocket Mouse in Nevada, by the numbers

Common in Nevada 24th most recorded of 142 mammals logged in Nevada

1,261 occurrence records
13 with iNaturalist photos
Feb 11, 2026 Last seen in Nevada

1,261 total records count every Nevada occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,250 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Long-tailed Pocket Mouse in Nevada

Most sightings fall in May to August.

1,250 Nevada occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Nevada records (table)
MonthRecords
January57
February12
March161
April80
May205
June216
July200
August158
September61
October52
November48
December0

Monthly long-tailed pocket mouse occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Nevada.

Seasonality

Year-round in Nevada, with recorded sightings peaking in May–August, with a smaller rise in March.

Occurrence map

Where Long-tailed Pocket Mouse has been recorded in Nevada

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Nevada records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Lake Mead National Recreation Area 168
Death Valley National Park 24
Quinn Canyon Wilderness 20
Gold Butte National Monument 3
Black Canyon Wilderness Area 3
Wayne E. Kirch Wildlife Management Area 2
Valley of Fire State Park 2
Jimbilnan Wilderness Area 2

Protected places with the most long-tailed 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 476
Nye County 420
Lincoln County 107
Mineral County 99
Washoe County 37
Pershing County 36
Esmeralda County 27
Lyon County 23
Churchill County 16
Elko County 4
Humboldt County 2
White Pine County 2
Storey County 2
Other localities 10

The complete county distribution, spread across 13 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 long tailed pocket mouse have a limited set of named hotspots, led by Valley of Fire State Park. That gap may reflect where people look and report, so it doesn’t prove absence elsewhere.

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 strongest reporting falls in summer, when Nevada’s high country is easiest to reach but low deserts are hottest. That may shape where observers submit records.

The file combines 13 research-grade iNaturalist records and 1,253 GBIF records. Those 1,266 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.

Long-tailed pocket mouse perched on a flat rock, whiskers fanned forward and one eye alert, desert gravel in the background
Full species profile Long-tailed Pocket Mouse Chaetodipus formosus Size 19.4 cm7.6 in Weight 19 g0.7 oz Lifespan Up to 7.1 yr View the full profile

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"