Synaptomys cooperi

photo credit: animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/

ID

  • Small, robust, short legs, large head, very short tail
  • Long, shaggy fur
  • Mixed brown, gray, and black upper parts with a little bit of dark yellow
  • Silverish gray underparts (Whitaker)

Distribution

 Credit: Smithsonian Institution

Reproduction

  • Young can be produced in any month, but less commonly in the winter months
  • Gestation takes 23 to 26 days with litters of 1 to 8 young
  • Females can produce multiple litters in a year (Whitaker)

Behavior

  • Often share burrows with other small mammals of different species
  • Build nests of dead grasses and leaves several inches belowground
  • Often occur in colonies
  • Mostly nocturnal, but will sometimes be active during the day
  • Bright green droppings (Whitaker)

Food Habits

  • Green plant material, berries, fungi, mosses (Whitaker)
  • Roots, bark (Smithsonian)
  • Clover, algae (Audubon)

Size/Life Cycle

  • Average measurements: 94-154 mm (total length), 21.4-50 g (total weight) (Smithsonian)

Predators

  • Predatory mammals, owls, hawks, snakes (Whitaker)

Habitat

  • Extremely variable
  • Dry hillsides with growth of bluegrass, fields with a canopy of weeds, grassy areas with interspersed brush and small trees, and dense woods (Whitaker)