Dipodomys compactus
| Gulf Coast Kangaroo Rat
(Dipodomys compactus) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Supramyomorpha |
| Infraorder: | Castorimorphi |
| Superfamily: | Geomyoidea |
| Family: | Heteromyidae |
| Subfamily: | Dipodomyinae |
| Genus: | Dipodomys |
| Binomial details | |
| Dipodomys compactus F. W. True, 1889 | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
The Gulf Coast Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys compactus) is a medium-sized kangaroo rat that inhabits sparsely vegetated sandy areas.
Description
From Wilson et al. (2016): "This is a medium-sized kangaroo rat with five toes on hindfeet (including small claw on side of hindfoot) and narrow skull. Upper parts of Gulf Coast Kangaroo Rats on barrier islands of Texas, USA, and Tamaulipas, Mexico, are grayish cream (paler than any other species of kangaroo rat) or orangish yellow. Upper parts of those on the Texas mainland are slightly darker reddish yellow. Tail is relatively short and less distinctly bicolored, with shorter, sparser crest and tuft."
Museum type specimens
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Holotype: USNM 019665. Dipodomys compactus. Adult female. Padre Island, Cameron County, Texas. Collected 3 April 1888. -
Holotype: USNM 019665. Dipodomys compactus. Adult female. Padre Island, Cameron County, Texas. Collected 3 April 1888. -
Holotype: USNM 019665. Dipodomys compactus. Adult female. Padre Island, Cameron County, Texas. Collected 3 April 1888.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mainland and islands | Hall (1951) and Selander et al. (1962, for mass values) | males: 216–230 | males: 111–126 | males: 35.8–37.7 | males: 47, 60 (n=2); females: 46, 44 (n=2) | |
| Texas | Schmidly & Bradley (2016) | 223 | 118 | 36 | 44–60 |
Skull
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History reports that the skull of the holotype Dipodomys compactus (Holotype: 19665/35227) was lost.
Similar species
From Baumgardner (1991): "The only similar kangaroo rat to occur in proximity to D. compactus is D. ordii. Externally, D. compactus differs from D. ordii in southern Texas by having a shorter tail. The tail of D. compactus is not crested, and its ventral pencil is lighter in color and more broken than in D. ordii, and does not extend to the end of the tail. The pelage of D. compactus is shorter, coarser, and, in areas of proximity to D. ordii, has an orangish cast, whereas that of the latter tends toward brownish hues (Baumgardner and Schmidly, 1981). Cranially, D. compactus is smaller than D. ordii from southern Texas as reflected primarily in the former having a shorter skull and narrower, less inflated mastoid bullae (Baumgardner and Schmidly, 1981; Schmidly and Hendricks, 1976)."
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Gulf Coast Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys compactus) observed by Robby Deans in Boca Chica State Park, Texas. -
Ord's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys ordii) observed by Nick Cairns in Carbon County, Montana.
References
Baumgardner GD. 1991. Dipodomys compactus. Mammalian Species (369): 1-4.
Baumgardner GD, Schmidly DJ. 1981. Systematics of the southern races of two species of kangaroo rats (Dipodomys compactus and D. ordii). Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University 73:1-27.
Schmidly DJ, Bradley RD. 2016. The mammals of Texas. Austin (TX, USA): University of Texas Press.
Schmidly DJ, Hendricks FS. 1976. Systematics of the southern races of Ord's kangaroo rat, Dipodomys ordii. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Science 75:225- 237.
True FW. 1889-01-05. Description of Geomys personatus and Dipodomys compactus, two new species of rodents from Padre Island, Texas. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 11:159-160.
Wilson DE, Lacher Jr. TE, Mittermeier RA. 2016. Heteromyidae, pp. 170-233 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona:Lynx Edicions on pages 227-228. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6611160