Animal Encyclopedia:
Heermann's kangaroo rat
Dipodomys heermanni
SUBFAMILY
Dipodomyinae
TAXONOMY
Dipodomys heermanni Le Conte, 1853, Calaveras County, California, United States.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
None known.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Total length 9.8–12.3 oz (250-313 mm), weight 2.3–2.6 oz (70-80 g). A medium-sized kangaroo rat with long silky hair and typical color pattern. Its large, dorsal sebaceous gland secrets throughout the year.
DISTRIBUTION
Central California west of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
HABITAT
Occupy discrete burrows in dry grassy plains and partly open gravel covered ground on slopes with sparse chaparral, or costal dune scrub habitat.
BEHAVIOR
Territorial around burrows but tolerate conspecifics once socialized. Footdrumming communicates social status.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Seeds and green vegetation are main foods.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Females enter estrus every 14–17 days and remain in estrus for a few hours. Breeding is concentrated from February to August with a peak in April. Gestation is 30–31 days and litter size ranges from two to four young.
CONSERVATION STATUS
One subspecies (berkeleyensis) is already extinct and another, morroensis has been on the USDI and State of California endangered species lists since in 1971 and is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. The last official estimate of population size in 1995 on the remaining 37 acres (15 ha) of occupied habitat was fewer than 50 individuals.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Could be a keystone species in some areas.
| Common name / Scientific name | Physical characteristics | Habitat and behavior | Distribution | Diet | Conservation status |
| Bailey's pocket mouse Chaetodipus baileyi | Large, with gray fur washed with yellow and long bicolored tail; sexually dimorphic: total length males 8–9.5 in (20.6–24 cm), weight 0.88–1.3 oz (25–38 g); females 6.7–9 in (17–22.8 cm), weight 0.8–1.3 oz (24–37 g). | Lower Sonoran desert grasslands and transition zones; sandy soil and rocky slopes. | Southern California across southern Arizona to extreme southwestern New Mexico, south along western Mexico and Baja Peninsula. | Granivore, detoxifies jojoba seeds. | Not listed by IUCN |
| Olive-backed pocket mouse Perognathus fasciatus | Small to medium sized pocket mouse with olive-colored back and yellow lateral stripe; total length 5–6 in (12.5–14.2 cm), weight 0.28–0.49 oz (8–14 g). | Resident of grasslands and desert scrub. Stores food in underground burrows. | Great Plains from southern Canada south to Colorado, United States. | Weed and grass seeds, some insects. | Not listed by IUCN, but species of concern in Nebraska, United States |
| Silky pocket mouse Perognathus flavus | Very small pocket mouse with total length 4–5 in (10–13 cm) and weighing 0.17– 0.35 oz (5–10 g). | Grassy and shrubby habitats. | Great Plains south into Mexico. | Seeds. | Not listed by IUCN, but species of concern in Wyoming, United States |
| Spiny pocket mouse Chaetodipus spinatus | Hispid colorations with pronounced rump spines. Total length 3.5–5 in (8.9– 12.8 cm), weight 0.45–0.63 oz (13–18 g). | Arid, rocky habitats. | Occurs in narrow strip between southern Nevada, United States, adjacent to and west of Colorado River and in southern California into tip of Baja, Mexico. | Seeds. | Not listed by IUCN |
| Mexican spiny pocket mouse Liomys irroratus | Grayish brown with white underside and stiff spiny hairs mixed with soft slender hairs on back. Males total length 8.5– 10.5 in (21.6–26.2 cm), weight 1.4–2.1 oz (40–60 g); females total length 4–5 in (10.2–13.1 cm), weight 1.2–1.8 oz (35–50 g). | Dense brushy areas. | Mexican Plateau and adjacent areas extending north into southern Texas, United States. | Seeds. | Not listed by IUCN |
| Nelson's spiny pocket mouse Heteromys nelsoni | Large gray spiny pocket mouse with soft bristles instead of spines. Total length 13–14 in (32.8–35.6 cm), weight 2.1– 3.9 oz (60–110 g). | Lives in moist habitats in cloud forest. | Northern Central America from southern Chiapas, Mexico, to southwest Guatemala. | Primarily granivorious. | Critically Endangered |
| Common name / Scientific name/ | Physical characteristics | Habitat and behavior | Distribution | Diet | Conservation status |
| Dark kangaroo mouse Microdipodops megacephalus | Small, bipedal rodent with dark colored hair, large hind feet, and long tail. Total length 5.4–7 in (13.8–17.7 cm), weight 0.35–0.6 oz (10–17 g). | Fine gravelly soils in sage-brush desert. Constructs elaborate nests. | Upper Sonoran sage-brush desert in Oregon, Utah, California, and Nevada, United States. | Seeds and some insects. | Not listed by IUCN |
| Chisel-toothed kangaroo rat Dipodomys microps | Medium-sized, gray rodent with special flattened lower incisors. Total length is 9.5–11.6 in (24.5–29.5 cm), weight 1.4–2.5 oz (40–70 g). | Occupies desert valleys dominated by saltbush in the Great Basin. Removes outer tissues from leaves of saltbush and consumes inner layers. Sandbathes to maintain pelage and for communication. | Nevada, United States, and parts of adjacent states. | Primarily folivorous and secondarily granivorous. | Not listed by IUCN |
| Elephant-eared kangaroo rat Dipodomys elephantinus | Large-sized, large-eared kangaroo rat with long tail and tuft on end. Has five toes and is moderately dark in color. Total length is 12–13.3 in (30.5–33.6 cm) weight 2.8–3.2 oz (79–91 g). | Chaparral-covered slopes. | Very restricted in range to San Benito and Monterrey counties in California, United States. | Primarily granivorous. | Not listed by IUCN |
| Nelson's kangaroo rat Dipodomys nelsoni | Large bipedal rodent with soft, pale brownish fur. Total length 12–12.5 in (31.2–31.9 cm), weight 3–3.3 oz (84–93 g). | Occupy grassland plains. Like the banner-tailed kangaroo rats, D. spectabilis, they construct burrows of large, dome-shaped mounds. | Occurs in Chihuahuan Desert in Chihuahua-Zacatecas Biotic Provice of north-central Mexico. | Windblown seeds. | Not listed by IUCN |
| Ord's kangaroo rat Dipodomys ordii | Small to medium-sized kangaroo rat with relatively short tail that has a dark tail stripe broader than the white one and a ventral stripe that tapers to a point at end. Total length 8–14 in (20.8–36.5 cm), weight 1.7–3.4 oz (50–96 g). | Found in various habitats of sandy soils, semi-arid and mixed grasslands, and scrublands. | Extensive range from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, central Oregon, and eastern California to central Kansas and Oklahoma, United States. | Granivore that eats seeds of grasses and forbes and green vegetation. | Not listed by IUCN |
| San Joaquin Valley kangaroo rat Dipodomys nitratoides | Small, four-toed species with yellowish brown back and white ventrum. Total length 4.7–7 in (12–18.2 cm), weight 1.2–1.9 oz (33–54 g). | Inhabits grassland and alkaline plains sparsely covered with grass and shrubs. Males and females establish contact before copulation. | San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. | Seeds and vegetation. | Lower Risk/Near Threatened; two subspecies are Critically Endangered |
| Stephen's kangaroo rat Dipodomys stephensi | Medium-sized five-toed kangaroo rat. | Found in sparse grasslands and coast sage-scrub habitats. | Limited to three counties in southern California, United States: Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego. | Granivore. | Lower Risk/Conservation Dependent |
| Texas kangaroo rat Dipodomys elator | Medium-sized kangaroo rat with long, thick tail with white tip on end. Total length 10–13.5 in (26–34.5 cm), weight 2.3–3.2 oz (65–90 g). | Lives in scattered mesquite shrubs with open areas of short grass. They maintain open runways between burrows and mesquite shrubs and use visible dust-bathing areas. | Historically in nine counties in north-central Texas, United States, and one in adjacent Oklahoma, but now may inhabit only three Texas counties. | Grass seed and cultivated plants. | Vulnerable |
