Dipodomys californicus
California Kangaroo Rat
(Dipodomys californicus) | |
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Range | |
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Taxonomic classification | |
Order: | Rodentia |
Suborder: | Supramyomorpha |
Infraorder: | Castorimorphi |
Family: | Heteromyidae |
Subfamily: | Dipodomyinae |
Genus: | Dipodomys |
Binomial details | |
Dipodomys californicus Merriam, 1890 |
Description
From Kelt (1988): "The general pattern of pelage coloration is consistent throughout the genus (Hall, 1981). Pelage in D. californicus is silky throughout. The dorsal guard hairs are unbanded, taper abruptly, and possess well-developed medullary aggregations located in individual invaginations in the medullary substance. These hairs usually are 13 mm or less in length (if 13 mm, then medullar y aggregations are not more than three abreast), and cortical pigmentation is prominent for < 4 mm along the length of the shaft. An exception is D. c. californicus, in which dorsal guard hairs have a maximum length of 15 mm and width to 45 μm; the distal fraction of a millimeter possesses dark medullary (not cortical) pigmentation, which is subtended by a 2 mm black band (Mayer, 1952)."
From Jameson & Peeters (2004): "A rather large, dark kangaroo rat with a white-tipped tail. The hind foot has four toes."

External measurements
Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.
Part of range | Reference | Total length | Tail length | Hindfoot length | Ear length | Mass |
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California | Jameson & Peeters (2004) | 270–340 | 174–194 | 39–47 | 57–78 | |
not reported | Grinnell (1922) and Grinnell & Linsdale (1929) | 260–340 | 152–217 | 40–47 | 11–16 |
Skull
Similar species
From Kelt (1988): "Where D. californicus evidently is sympatric with D. deserti and D. merriami (James and James, 1984), it may be distinguished by its darker coloration and by size. D. californicus is intermediate in weight and external measurements, especially hindfoot length, between the smaller D. merriami and the larger D. deserti (Grinnell, 1922; Hall, 1981). Additionally, both D. deserti and D. merriami are narrow-faced kangaroo rats (Grinnell, 1922). Southern members of D. californicus closely resemble some northern members of D. heermanni in external appearance and cranial features. The former can usually be distinguished by the absence of the hallux or by the presence of a distinct white tip on the tail (Grinnell, 1922; Grinnell and Linsdale, 1929)."
References
Grinnell, J. 1922. A geographical study of the kangaroo rats of California. University of California Publications in Zoology 24: 1-124.
Grinnell J, Linsdale JM. 1929. A new kangaroo rat from the upper Sacramento Valley, California. University of California Publications in Zoology 30:453-459.
Hall ER. 1981. The mammals of North America. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
James AH, James DK. 1984. Dipodomys californicus in Sierra Valley, Plumas County, California. California Fish and Game, 70:58-64.
Jameson EW, Peeters HJ. 2004. Mammals of California (No. 66). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.
Kelt DA. 1988. Dipodomys californicus. Mammalian Species (324): 1-4.
Mayer WV. 1952. The hair of California mammals with keys to the dorsal guard hairs of California mammals. American Midland Naturalist 48:480-512.
Merriam CH. 1890. Descriptions of three new kangaroo rats, with remarks on the identity of Dipodomys ordii of Woodhouse. North American Fauna 4:41-49.