Chisel-toothed kangaroo rat

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Chisel-toothed kangaroo rat
Dipodomys-microps.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Heteromyidae
Genus: Dipodomys
Species:
D. microps
Binomial name
Dipodomys microps
(Merriam, 1904)

The chisel-toothed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys microps) is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. [2]

There are 13 sub-species. [3] Saltbush leaves are a major dietary component, requiring specialized physiology to eliminate the salt while retaining water. [4]

Description

They ranges between 268.4 - 273mm long with their body length from 100 - 116mm and tails being longer than their body ranges between 136 - 190mm. [5] Their hind feet are approximately 40% the length of their body and ranges between 40 - 45mm and the front limbs being much shorter. Males tend to be a bit larger than the females. Their backs can range from a sandy brown, gray-brown to a pale yellow, their bellies are white, and their sides range from yellow to yellow gray. [6] They have "tufted" tails which are brown with white stripes on the sided and the tuft at the end of the tail being dark brown with scattered white hairs. They have large rounded bicolour ears. Their incisors are unique and are used to identify them, they are anteriorly flattened and broad, [7] like chisels, which is where their name comes from.

Geographic range and habitat

It is endemic to the United States (found in Nevada, Utah, California, Oregon, and parts of Arizona and Idaho). [6] They inhabit the arid regions with gravelly soils are found at moderate elevations (1000 - 1,500m), though they have been found at elevations of 3,200m above sea level. [5] Their habit is saltbrush, especially Atriplex confertifolia, dominated desert valleys and upland deserts with blackbush and are less common in sand dunes. They create burrows in the ground with multiple entries, usually under the bushes of shrubs. Their usual habitat is desert shrub. [8]

Diet

D. microps is a facultative specialist, and the only foliovore in the Dipodomys genus. 60 - 80% of its diet consists of the Atriplex confertifolia's leaves. They do consume some seed and insects, however, this is a small portion of their diet. [9] This desert shrub, Atriplex confertifolia, is adapted to desert life by encrusting its leaf surfaces with a layer of salt crystals, this has a dual purpose, one of which is to reflect incoming solar radiation which help maintain its water homeostasis, and secondly it is a defense against herbivory. [10] D. microps have adapted morphologically, physiologically, and behaviorally to overcome this defense mechanism. They have evolved their lower incisors to become flat, broad, and chisel-shaped, which is a unique to character among the kangaroo rats. [7]

They collect the leaves of the Atriplex shrub and stuff it into their cheek pouch and take it back to their burrows. They have been found to have caches of leaves of up 250g. Their unique incisors are used to scrape/strip the epidermis and the salt layer off of the leaf by repeatedly pulling the leaf downward and perpendicular to its lower incisors. This is then repeated on the other side till the inner tissue, consisting of the parenchyma, vascular tissue, bundle sheath, and the mesophyl, which is then consumed. [11] This part of the leaf has a water content of up to 80% in the spring, and D. microps obtains its water from the leaves. Another adaptation to assist with the consumption is that the upper lip closes off the mouth cavity which reduces the amount of salt entering or falling into the mouth.

Related Research Articles

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Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus Dipodomys, are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed this mode of locomotion independently, like several other clades of rodents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heteromyidae</span> Family of rodents

Heteromyidae is a family of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice and spiny pocket mice. Most heteromyids live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, though species within the genus Heteromys are also found in forests and their range extends as far south as northern South America. They feed mostly on seeds and other plant parts, which they carry in their fur-lined cheek pouches to their burrows.

The Texas kangaroo rat is a rodent of the family Heteromyidae. It is found in Texas and Oklahoma in the United States, where it often lives in association with brush species, like mesquite and lotebush, growing in areas with firm clay-loam soils. The species is listed as threatened by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the IUCN lists the species as vulnerable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ord's kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agile kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

The desert kangaroo rat is a rodent species in the family Heteromyidae that is found in desert areas of southwestern North America. It is one of the large kangaroo rats, with a total length greater than 12 inches (300 mm) and a mass greater than 3.2 ounces (91 g).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heermann's kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

Heermann's kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. Their long smooth pelage resembles typical kangaroo rats, with their dorsal side showing a mixed range of olive, black and orange colors. There are 9 distinguished sub-species of Dipodomys heermanni: D.h. arenae, D.h. berkeleyensis, D.h. dixoni, D.h. goldmani, D.h. heermanni, D.h. jolonensis, D.h.morroensis, D.h. swarthi, and D.h. tularensis. The dental formula of Dipodomys heermanni is 1.0.1.31.0.1.3 × 2 = 20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merriam's kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

Merriam's kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. The species name commemorates Clinton Hart Merriam. It is found in the Upper and Lower Sonoran life zones of the southwestern United States, Baja California, and northern Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson's kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

Nelson's kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae which is endemic to the central plateau of Mexico.

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The Fresno kangaroo rat or San Joaquin kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to areas within and near the San Joaquin Valley of California in the United States. Habitat destruction due to agricultural development and urbanization has put this species at risk, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as "vulnerable".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panamint kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

The Panamint kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to the Mojave Desert in eastern California and western Nevada, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillips's kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

Phillips's kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitat is hot deserts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banner-tailed kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

The banner-tailed kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in arid environments in the southwestern United States and Mexico where it lives in a burrow by day and forages for seeds and plant matter by night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephens's kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-faced kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silky pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The silky pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in northern and central Mexico and the southwest region of the United States. It is a species of least concern, according to the IUCN, with no known major threats. The silky pocket mouse eats seeds, succulent parts of plants and nuts, and carries food in its cheek pouches. It lives in low valley bottoms with soft soils, among weeds and shrubs, where it burrows in the sand to bury seed caches. The species is more tolerant of harsh habitat conditions than other pocket mice.

<i>Atriplex nummularia</i> Species of plant

Atriplex nummularia is a species of saltbush from the family Amaranthaceae and is a large woody shrub known commonly as oldman saltbush. A. nummularia is native to Australia and occurs in each of the mainland states, thriving in arid and semi-arid inland regions.

The Dulzura kangaroo rat, or San Diego kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in Baja California, Mexico, and in the Colorado Desert and elsewhere in California in the United States. It is a common species and the IUCN has assessed its status as being of "least concern".

References

  1. ↑ Cassola, F. (2016). "Dipodomys microps". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T42603A22227645. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T42603A22227645.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Patton, J.L. (2005). "Family Heteromyidae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 846–847. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  3. ↑ Wilson, Don E., ed. (1999). The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals . Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN   1-56098-845-2.
  4. ↑ Mares, Michael A. (1 November 2003). "Desert dreams: seeking the secret mammals of the salt pans - Naturalist at Large" (PDF). Natural History : 29–34.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 Hayssen, V. (1991-11-06). "Dipodomys microps". Mammalian Species (389): 1–9. doi: 10.2307/3504107 . ISSN   0076-3519. JSTOR   3504107.
  6. 1 2 Reid, Fiona A. (2006). Mammals of North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   0-395-93596-2.
  7. 1 2 Kenagy, G. J. (1973). "Adaptations for Leaf Eating in the Great Basin Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys microps". Oecologia. 12 (4): 383–412. Bibcode:1973Oecol..12..383K. doi:10.1007/BF00345050. ISSN   0029-8549. JSTOR   4214869. PMID   28308238. S2CID   21942905.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-13. Retrieved 2011-11-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ↑ Terry, Rebecca C.; Guerre, Megan E.; Taylor, David S. (October 2017). McArthur, Clare (ed.). "How specialized is a diet specialist? Niche flexibility and local persistence through time of the Chisel‐toothed kangaroo rat". Functional Ecology. 31 (10): 1921–1932. doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12892 . ISSN   0269-8463.
  10. ↑ Mares, Michael A.; Ojeda, Ricardo A.; Borghi, Carlos E.; Giannoni, Stella M.; Diaz, Gabriela B.; Braun, Janet K. (November 1997). "How Desert Rodents Overcome Halophytic Plant Defenses". BioScience. 47 (10): 699–704. doi: 10.2307/1313210 . ISSN   0006-3568. JSTOR   1313210.
  11. ↑ Kenagy, G. J. (1972). "Saltbush Leaves: Excision of Hypersaline Tissue by a Kangaroo Rat". Science. 178 (4065): 1094–1096. Bibcode:1972Sci...178.1094K. doi:10.1126/science.178.4065.1094. ISSN   0036-8075. JSTOR   1735891. PMID   17741983. S2CID   44642168.
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