It has a yellowish gray-brown back, a white underside, and a tail longer than its body. It is active at night and carries seeds in cheek pouches to store in its burrow.
Its back is grayish brown mixed with yellow, and its underside and feet are white. Wispy dark hairs extend from the rump; its tail is longer than head and body combined, darker above and lighter below.
It is nocturnal and terrestrial, feeding mainly on seeds. It carries seeds in cheek pouches and stores them in burrows under rocks or shrubs.
It eats seeds of cholla cacti and ocotillo, as well as smaller amounts of green vegetation and insects.
It can live without drinking water, using moisture in food and water produced when food is metabolised.
Its cheek pouches open outside the mouth and are lined with fur; it uses them to carry seeds and other food.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.