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Dipodomys ordii

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Ord's Kangaroo Rat
(Dipodomys ordii)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:Rodentia
Suborder:Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:Castorimorphi
Family:Heteromyidae
Subfamily:Dipodomyinae
Genus:Dipodomys
Binomial details
Dipodomys ordii Woodhouse, 1853

Description

From Armstrong et al. (2010): "Ord's kangaroo rat is a rather large heteromyid with a long, tufted tail; short forelimbs and elongate hindfeet with 5 toes and densely haired soles. The upper parts are brownish yellow washed with black. The venter, legs, flanks, upper lips, and facial patterns are white. Black facial lines are present on the sides of the nose. The fur is sleek and silky. The tail is dark on its dorsal and ventral surfaces and white laterally."

From Hoffmeister (1986): "A five-toed, medium-sized Dipodomys relatively short-tailed (usually about 125 percent of body); hind feet usually less than 42 mm."

Seabloom et al. (2011): "Dorsal peloage coloration is cinnamon-buff, while the underparts, including feet, are white. There are also white patches above the eyes and below the ears."

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
California Jameson & Peeters (2004) 208–281 100–163 33–41 50–61
Colorado Armstrong et al. (2010) 240–280 133–163 39–43 12–15 55–85
Nebraska Johnsgard (2020) 249–280 138–163 45–100
North Dakota Seabloom et al. (2020) 258 140 38 12 males: 66; females: 64
Texas Schmidly & Bradley (2016) 253 159 41 60–70


Skull

From Armstrong et al. (2010): "The skull has greatly inflated auditory bullae, and the zygomatic arches are fragile. The upper incisors are grooved." Dipodomys microps has chisel-shaped (anteriorly flattened and broad) lower incisors, whereas D. merriami, D. agilis, D. panamintinus, and D. ordii have awl-shaped lower incisors. The chisel shape of the incisors is unique to this species.

Chisel-shaped lower incisors of Dipodomys microps.

Similar species

From Armstrong et al. (2010): "The banner-tailed kangaroo rat Dipodomys spectabilis differs from Ord's kangaroo rat in having 4 toes on the hindfeet and a striking white-tipped tail with a solid black band proximal to the white tip."

From Hoffmeister (1986): "D. ordii differs from D. microps as follows: lower incisors rounded on the front face rather than flat and broad; dark, ventral tail stripe usually terminates short of the tip rather than extending to tip; dark stripes on tail usually narrower, rather than wider, than white stripes; lining of cheek pouches white rather than dusky; hind feet and body averaging shorter; skull relatively broader interorbitally."

From Hayssen (1991): "D. microps also can be distinguished from D. ordii by its more prominent face-mask and dark tail-stripes as well as its coat color, which has a gun-metal hue (Hatch et al., 1971)."

Dipodomys ordii.
Dipodomys microps. Haysen (1991) noted that the gun-metal hue of this species coat color helps distinguish it from D. ordii.
Awl-shaped lower incisors of Dipodomys ordii
Chisel-shaped lower incisors of Dipodomys microps

From Hoffmeister (1986): "D. ordii differs from D. merriami as follows: five rather than four toes on hind foot; tail relatively shorter, about 125 percent of body rather than 143 percent; rostrum broader; skull averaging larger but maxillary wing of zygomatic arch averaging narrower."

Dipodomys ordii. Compared to D. merriami, this species has five toes, rather than four, and a relatively shorter tail.
Dipodomys merriami. Compared to D. ordii, this species has four toes, rather than five, and a relatively longer tail.

References

Armstrong DM, Fitzgerald JP, Meaney CA. 2010. Mammals of Colorado, Second Edition. Denver (CO, USA): University Press of Colorado.

Hatch FT, Ridley EJ, Mazrimas JA. 1971. Some Dipodomys species: ecological and taxonomic features, estrous cycle, and breeding attempts. (No. UCRL-51140). California University, Livermore. Lawrence Livermore Lab.

Hayssen V. 1991. Dipodomys microps. Mammalian Species (389):pp.1-9.

Hoffmeister DF. 1986. Mammals of Arizona. Tucson (AZ, USA): University of Arizona Press.

Jameson EW, Peeters HJ. 2004. Mammals of California (No. 66). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.

Johnsgard PA. 2020. Wildlife of Nebraska: a natural history. Lincoln (NE, USA): University of Nebraska Press.

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

Seabloom R, Hoganson JW, Jensen WF. 2020. The mammals of North Dakota. Fargo (ND, USA): North Dakota State University Press.

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