Fresno kangaroo rat

Last updated

Contents

Fresno kangaroo rat
Dipodomys nitratoides.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. nitratoides
Binomial name
Dipodomys nitratoides
Merriam, 1894 [2] : 112–113 

The Fresno kangaroo rat or San Joaquin kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides) is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. [3] It is endemic to areas within and near the San Joaquin Valley of California in the United States. [1] 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".

There are three subspecies of D. nitratoides: [4]

Description

The Fresno kangaroo rat is the smallest of the kangaroo rats in its genus, [6] and has a head-and body length of about 10 cm (4 in). Like other members of the genus, its tail, which is tipped with a large tuft of fur, is longer than the head and body combined. Kangaroo rats do not run, but use their powerful hind limbs to jump as in the manner of a kangaroo, using their tails for balance as they proceed in bounds. The small front legs are used for manipulating food. The fur of the upper parts of this species is yellowish, and that of the underparts is white. [7]

Distribution and habitat

This kangaroo rat is found in and around the San Joaquin Valley in California, in the United States. The subspecies D. n. exilis and D. n. nitratoides are found only in the valley bottom. Historically, D. n. exilis occupied alkaline grassland and saltbush scrub between Merced River to the north and Kings River to the south, and between Fresno Slough to the west and Fresno to the east. This area of occupancy has shrunk and now covers an area of about 160 hectares (400 acres) in Fresno County to the west of Kerman. Similarly, the range of D. n. nitratoides has shrunk from most of the Tulare Basin to some fragmentary patches surrounded by cultivated land in northern Kings County and southern Kern County, to the east of the dried up Tulare Lake. The subspecies with the most extensive range is D. n. brevinasus; this inhabits grasslands and shrublands on the foothill slopes to the west of the San Joachim Valley, from Merced County in the north to San Emigdio Creek in the south, and the foothills to the east of the San Joachim Valley near the dried up Buena Vista Lake. [6]

Ecology

The species is nocturnal and shows maximum activity levels shortly after sunset. It is three times less active on nights with a moon than on moonless nights; it is more active in the open on nights without a moon, while keeping in the shade of vegetation when the moon is shining. [8] It feeds largely on seeds, which it stuffs into its cheek pouches for transporting back to the burrow to eat or to cache. It chooses friable soil for the digging of the burrow. Breeding may take place three times a year, with litters of up to five young, and the gestation period is about one month. [7]

Status

The Fresno kangaroo rat is limited to a range of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi), a much smaller area than it used at one time to occupy. Much of its traditional range has been converted for agricultural use, some has been used for infrastructure projects and some for urban development. It does not adapt well to cultivated fields, though it may re-invade them if they are abandoned. It is rather patchy in occurrence, with large swings in its total population, due to flooding, drought or other occurrences. This may lead to local extirpation, and with the fragmentation of its range, populations do not easily recover. For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as "vulnerable". [1] The subspecies most at risk is D. n. exilis which now has a total area of occupancy of only 160 hectares (400 acres). Some populations of D. n. nitratoides have fewer than 50 individuals and occupy such restricted habitats as the central strip of highways. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kangaroo rat</span> Genus of mammals belonging to the kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, and pocket mice family of rodents

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">Giant kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

The giant kangaroo rat is an endangered species of heteromyid rodent endemic to California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Central Valley grasslands</span> Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in California, United States

The California Central Valley grasslands is a temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in California's Central Valley. It a diverse ecoregion containing areas of desert grassland, prairie, savanna, riparian forest, marsh, several types of seasonal vernal pools, and large lakes such as now-dry Tulare Lake, Buena Vista Lake, and Kern Lake.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dipodomyinae</span> Subfamily of rodents

Dipodomyinae is a subfamily of heteromyid rodents, the kangaroo rats and mice. Dipodomyines, as implied by both their common and scientific names, are bipedal; they also jump exceptionally well. Kangaroo rats and mice are native to desert and semidesert ecosystems of western North America from southern Canada to central Mexico. They are generally herbivorous foragers, and dig and live in 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

Ord's kangaroo rat is a kangaroo rat native to western North America, specifically the Great Plains and the Great Basin, with its range extending from extreme southern Canada to central Mexico.

The California kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. However, populations are declining, having not fully recovered after the drought in California from 2013 to 2015 destroyed their habitat and changed it into desert.

<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">San Quintin kangaroo rat</span> Species of rodent

The San Quintin kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it is known only from western Baja California. Its natural habitat includes arid lowlands with sparse vegetation.

<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.

The San José Island kangaroo rat is a subspecies of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it is found only on San José Island off the east coast of Baja California Sur. is restricted to an area of only 30 km2 in the southwestern coast of San José Island, Lower California, with the population having been drastically reduced in size and being close to extinction No other species of Dipodomys occur in sympatry with D. insularis.

<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">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

Stephens's kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to the Southern California region of the United States, primarily in western Riverside County. The species is named after American zoologist Frank Stephens (1849–1937).

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

The Tipton kangaroo rat, is a subspecies of the San Joaquin kangaroo rat, a rodent in the family Heteromyidae.

The San Bernardino kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is one of 19 recognized subspecies of Merriam's kangaroo rat that are spread throughout the arid regions of the southwestern United States and Mexico.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Roach, N. (2018). "Dipodomys nitratoides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T6683A22228395. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T6683A22228395.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Merriam, C. Hart (1894). "Preliminary Descriptions of Eleven New Kangaroo Rats of the Genera Dipodomys and Perodipus". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 9: 109–116.
  3. ↑ 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. p. 847. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  4. ↑ Species profile on Fresno Kangaroo rat
  5. ↑ Grinnell, Joseph (1920). "A New Kangaroo Rat from the San Joaquin Valley, California". Journal of Mammalogy. 1 (4): 178–179. doi:10.2307/1373309. JSTOR   1373309 .
  6. 1 2 3 Hafner, David J. (1998). North American Rodents: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN. pp. 76–78. ISBN   978-2-8317-0463-0.
  7. 1 2 Endangered Wildlife and Plants of the World. Marshall Cavendish. 2001. pp. 747–748. ISBN   978-0-7614-7200-1.
  8. ↑ Lockard, Robert B.; Owings, Donald H. (1974). "Moon-related surface activity of bannertail (Dipodomys spectabilis) and fresno (D. Nitratoides) kangaroo rats". Animal Behaviour. 22 (1): 262–273. doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(74)80078-3.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.