The three species in this genus of New World mice are only distantly related to the common house mouse, Mus musculus.

It is a carnivorous rodent, dining on insects (such as grasshoppers), worms, spiders, centipedes, mantis, scorpions, snakes, and even other mice.

It also stalks its prey in the manner of a cat, sneaking up quietly, and defends its territory by "howling" like a small wolf.

The grasshopper mouse survives in the deserts of southwest United States by feeding on the bark scorpion, which are plentiful, due to other resources being less common.

[6] Researchers now know that the grasshopper mouse barely notices the intensifying sting due to a mutation in the cellular pathway that controls their pain response.

This change prevents the mouse from processing Na+ currents when injected with the scorpion's venom, which blocks action potential propagation and induces analgesia.