Dipodomys panamintinus

Panamint Kangaroo Rat
(*Dipodomys panamintinus*)
Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:	Rodentia
Suborder:	Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:	Castorimorphi
Superfamily:	Geomyoidea
Family:	Heteromyidae
Subfamily:	Dipodomyinae
Genus:	Dipodomys
Binomial details
	Dipodomys panamintinus (C. H. Merriam, 1894)
Other resources
	Full taxonomic details at MDD

Description

From Intress & Best (1990): "The Panamint kangaroo rat is medium-sized for the genus (Best, in press). Morphologically, it is adapted for ricochetal locomotion (Eisenberg, 1963). The hind foot has five toes. The tail is heavily crested and amounts to about 140% of the length of the head and body, or about 58% of the total length (Hall, 1946), and has a ventral stripe that may extend to the end of the vertebrae (Ingles, 1965). The upper parts are pale buffy clay-color, tinged with pale ochraceous. Thigh patches are large, colored similar to the back. Facial crescents and end of nose are broadly blackish, but barely or not continuous over sides of nose; inner sides of legs are dusky. Dorsal and ventral tail stripes are pale dusky, the ventral stripe failing or indistinctly continuous on distal third, permitting the lateral white stripes to meet below on distal third. Eyelids and anterior part (>50%) of reflexed upper border of ear blackish; posterior part of ear whitish (Merriam, 1894)."

From Jameson & Peeters (2004): "A rather large kangaroo rat whose color varies from ashy gray to dark brown or cinnamon brown."

Museum specimens

Holotype: 28566/40670. Dipodomys panamintinus panamintinus. Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Dipodomys panamintinus panamintinus. Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.

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)	285–334	156–202	42–48		64–81
rangewide	Intress & Best (1990) and Hafner (1977, mass value)	males: 292.4 (n=467); females: 287.8 (n=385)	males: 172.3 (n=467); females: 169.6 (n=385)	males: 44.5 (n=467); females: 43.8 (n=385)	males: 14.0 (n=467); females: 13.9 (n=385)	72.4

Skull

From Jameson & Peeters (2004): "Its lower incisors have a rounded anterior surface."

Holotype: 28566/40670. Dipodomys panamintinus panamintinus. Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891. Dorsal view of the skull.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Dipodomys panamintinus panamintinus. Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891. Ventral view of the skull.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Dipodomys panamintinus panamintinus. Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891. Lateral view of the skull.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Dipodomys panamintinus panamintinus. Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891. Dorsal view of the mandible.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Dipodomys panamintinus panamintinus. Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891. Lateral view of the left mandible.

Similar species

Comparison with Dipodomys agilis

From Intress & Best (1990) comparing Dipodomys panamintinus and the Agile Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys agilis): "D. agilis has much larger ears, darker coloration (Grinnell, 1922), a tail that is about 155% of the length of the head and body, and a white tail stripe almost as wide as the dorsal tail stripe at mid-tail."

Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
USNM 29261/41328. Agile Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys agilis). Adult male. Walker Basin, Kern County, California. Collected 15 July 1891.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
USNM 29261/41328. Agile Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys agilis). Adult male. Walker Basin, Kern County, California. Collected 15 July 1891.

Comparison with Dipodomys deserti

From Jameson & Peeters (2004): "It is distinguished from the Desert Kangaroo Rat (D. deserti), which is very pale and with which it may occur, by its darker color and by the five toes on its hind foot (the Desert Kangaroo Rat has four)."

Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
Holotype: USNM 15629/22522. Desert Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys deserti). Adult female. Mohave River, opposite Hesperia, San Bernardino County, California. Collected 29 June 1886. Tail with white tip; hind feet long and four-toed.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
Holotype: USNM 15629/22522. Desert Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys deserti). Adult female. Mohave River, opposite Hesperia, San Bernardino County, California. Collected 29 June 1886. Skull large with interparietal usually absent or not visible and supraoccipital greatly reduced.

Comparison with Dipodomys heermanni

From Intress & Best (1990) comparing Dipodomys panamintinus and the Heermann's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys heermanni): "D. heermanni has a tail that is about 150% of the length of the head and body; the tail is light gray or whitish, tipped with little or no crest."

Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
USNM 127158. Heermann's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys heermanni). Adult female. Tulare County, California. Collected 23 June 1903.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
USNM 127158. Heermann's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys heermanni). Adult female. Tulare County, California. Collected 23 June 1903.

Comparison with Dipodomys merriami

From Intress & Best (1990) comparing Dipodomys panamintinus and the Merriam's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys merriami): "D. merriami is smaller and has four toes on its hind feet. D. microps has flattened incisors that usually are wider than 1 mm."

Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
Holotype: USNM 54552. Merriam's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys merriami). Adult female. Pyramid Lake, Washoe County, Nevada. Collected 26 June 1893.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
Holotype: USNM 54552. Merriam's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys merriami). Adult female. Pyramid Lake, Washoe County, Nevada. Collected 26 June 1893.

Comparison with Dipodomys microps

From Hayssen (1991): "D. microps shares it range with two other five-toed kangaroo rats, D. panamintinus and D. ordii. D. microps has a hind foot <44 mm in length in the part of its range shared with D. panamintinus (length of hind foot is 42-48 mm for D. panamintinus) and has flatter, more chisel-shaped incisors than either D. panamintinus or D. ordii (Hall, 1981)."

Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
Holotype: USNM 25288/32701. Chisel-toothed Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys microps). Adult male. Lone Pine, Owens Valley, Inyo County, California. Collected 22 December 1890.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
Holotype: USNM 25288/32701. Chisel-toothed Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys microps). Adult male. Lone Pine, Owens Valley, Inyo County, California. Collected 22 December 1890.
Chisel-shaped lower incisors of the Chisel-toothed Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys microps).

Comparison with Dipodomys ordii

From Intress & Best (1990) comparing Dipodomys panamintinus and the Ord's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys ordii): "D. ordii is smaller, has a tail that is 120-130% of the length of head and body, has a white tail stripe that is as wide as or wider than the ventral dark tail stripe, and the ventral tail stripe never reaches the end of the vertebrae (Ingles, 1965)."

Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
NEON05194. Dipodomys ordii. Adult female. Collected in San Juan County, Utah on 30 June 2021.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
NEON06I91. Dorsal view of the skull of Dipodomys ordii.

Comparison with Dipodomys stephensi

From Intress & Best (1990) comparing Dipodomys panamintinus and the Stephens's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys stephensi): "D. stephensi has hind feet that usually are less than 42.5 mm in length, a tail that is 145-154% of the length of head and body, a white tail stripe about one-half as wide as the dorsal stripe, and a dark ventral tail stripe that extends to the end of the caudal vertebrae (Ingles, 1965)."

Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
Holotype: 186503. Stephens's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys stephensi). Adult male. San Jacinto Valley, Riverside County, California. Collected 27 November 1885.
Holotype: 28566/40670. Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus). Adult male. On head of Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. Collected 12 May 1891.
Holotype: 186503. Stephens's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys stephensi). Adult male. San Jacinto Valley, Riverside County, California. Collected 27 November 1885.

References

Eisenberg JF, Isaac DE. 1963. The reproduction of heteromyid rodents in captivity. Journal of Mammalogy 44: 61-67.

Grinnell J. 1922. A geographical study of the kangaroo rats of California. University of California Publications in Zoology, 24: 1-124.

Hall ER. 1946. Mammals of Nevada. Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.

Hall ER. 1981. The mammals of North America. 2 vols. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

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

Ingles LG. 1965. Mammals of the Pacific states. Stanford (CA, USA): Stanford University Press.

Intress C, Best TL. 1990. Dipodomys panamintinus. Mammalian Species (354): 1-7.

Jameson, E.W. and Peeters, H.J., 2004. Mammals of California (No. 66). Univ of California Press.

Merriam CH. 1894. Preliminary descriptions of eleven new kangaroo rats of the genera Dipodomys and Perodipus. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 9: 109-116.