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Kangaroo rats (genus Dipodomys) are a group of burrowing North American rodents specialized for seed-eating. They are named for their hopping locomotion and have large hind feet, long tails, and short front limbs used mainly for gathering seeds, which are carried in fur-lined external cheek pouches. All kangaroo rats closely resemble each other, but vary considerably in body size. This is the short-nosed kangaroo rat (D. nitratoides brevinasus), at the small end (35 - 40 g) of the K-rat size range. It is one of three very similar subspecies of the San Joaquin kangaroo rat. All are threatened or endangered because 95% or more of their original habitat has been converted to farmland or towns. This one was photographed in the Carrizo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo County, California. Short-nosed K-rats share this habitat with their larger - and similarly endangered - congener, the giant kangaroo rat. Other K-rat species pictured on this site include: |
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