Merriam’s Pocket Mouse vs slender thistle

Perognathus merriami compared with Carduus tenuiflorus

Key Differences

• Merriam’s Pocket Mouse is Least Concern while slender thistle is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Merriam’s Pocket Mouse	slender thistle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Heteromyidae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Perognathus	Carduus
Species	Perognathus merriami	Carduus tenuiflorus

Conservation Status

Merriam’s Pocket Mouse

LC — Least Concern

slender thistle

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Merriam’s Pocket Mouse	slender thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Merriam’s Pocket Mouse

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

slender thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Japan), Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.