Dipodomys elator
Texas Kangaroo Rat
(Dipodomys elator) | |
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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 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.


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