South Dakota mammals

Plains pocket mouse in South Dakota

Perognathus flavescens

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.

Apache pocket mouse, a subspecies of the plains pocket mouse, eating seeds on sandy groundPlains pocket mouse standing among rocks and dry grass in daylightPlains pocket mouse resting in dry grass litterPlains pocket mouse close-up on gravel showing tail and rounded ear
Photo: US National Park Service · Public domainApache pocket mouse, a subspecies of the plains pocket mouse, eating seeds on sandy groundPhoto: Tom Kennedy · CC BY 4.0Plains pocket mouse standing among rocks and dry grass in daylightPhoto: Abby Benson · CC0Plains pocket mouse resting in dry grass litterPhoto: Emily Geest · CC BY 4.0Plains pocket mouse close-up on gravel showing tail and rounded ear

Plains pocket mouse in South Dakota, by the numbers

Rare in South Dakota 94th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

Seasonality

No dated South Dakota records from 2000 to 2026.

South Dakota has no plains pocket mouse records from 2000 to 2026. The mouse is nocturnal, spends the day in its burrow, and rides out winter in bouts of torpor below ground, so it’s rarely seen outside a trap, and a gap like this says more about how seldom anyone surveys for it than about whether it’s still here. It digs its living and needs loose, sandy soil, which the glaciated country farther east and north offers far less of.

Status in South Dakota

NatureServe ranks the plains pocket mouse S5, secure, in South Dakota, one of the few states at this end of its range where it earns that grade. It’s native here, and the south-central counties give it room: wide, dry, lightly developed country with plenty of diggable ground.

Occurrence data from GBIF.

Apache pocket mouse, a subspecies of the plains pocket mouse, eating seeds on sandy ground
Full species profile Plains pocket mouse Perognathus flavescens Size 6.9 cm2.7 in Weight 9 g0.3 oz Lifespan Up to 5 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