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Dipodomys elator

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Texas Kangaroo Rat
(Dipodomys elator)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:Rodentia
Suborder:Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:Castorimorphi
Family:Heteromyidae
Subfamily:Dipodomyinae
Genus:Dipodomys
Binomial details
Dipodomys elator Merriam, 1894

Description

From Carter et al. (1986): "This is a relatively large kangaroo rat. There are four toes on each hindfoot.... Tail relatively thick and long, about 160% of head and body length; body large, about 120 mm in length (Davis 1942, 1974). Upperparts buffy, washed with blackish, underparts white; white thigh patches large; facial crescents broad and indistinctly continuous to blackish nose; dorsal and ventral tail stripes barely meet in front of the terminal white tuft; ventral dark stripe pale; dorsal dark stripe pale, but becoming blackish in the crested part."

From Schmidly & Bradley (2016): "A rather large, four-toed kangaroo rat with conspicuous white banner on tip of tail; tail long, relatively thick, and about 162% of length of head and body; body large (about 121 mm in length); upperparts buffy, washed with blackish; underparts white."

The the distal half of the tail is black and is conspicuously tipped terminally with white; superficially resembles Dipodomys spectabilis.

Dipodomys elator observed in Texas by Curtis Hart. As of July 5, 2024, this is the only record of D. elator on GBIF and iNaturalist that includes a photograph. Way to go, Curtis!
The tail of Dipodomys elator observed in Texas by Curtis Hart. Within its range, it is the only species of kangaroo rat with a conspicuous white banner on the tip of the tail.

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
not reported Carter et al. (1985) 260–345 161–205 42–49 10–16 65–90
Texas Schmidly & Bradley (2016) 317 196 46


Skull

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References

Carter DC, Webster W, Jones JK, Jones C, Suttkus RD. 1985. Dipodomys elator. Mammalian Species (232):1-3.

Davis WB. 1942. The systematic status of four kangaroo rats. Journal of Mammalogy 23: 328-333.

Davis WB. 1974. The mammals of Texas. Bulletin of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 41:1.

Merriam CH. 1894-06-21. Preliminary descriptions of eleven new kangaroo rats of the genera Dipodomys and Perodipus. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 9:109-115.

Schmidly DJ, Bradley RD. 2016. The mammals of Texas. Austin (TX, USA): University of Texas Press.

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