Animalia > Chordata > Mammalia > Rodentia > Heteromyidae > Dipodomys > Dipodomys microps

Dipodomys microps (chisel-toothed kangaroo rat)

Synonyms: Perodipus microps (homotypic)

Wikipedia Abstract

The chisel-toothed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys microps) is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to the United States (found in Nevada, Utah, California, Oregon, and parts of Arizona and Idaho). Their tail is 6.5 inches(136 mm) long, over two inches longer than the rest of their body, which is usually 4.25 inches. There are 13 sub-species. Saltbush leaves are a major dietary component, requiring specialized physiology to eliminate the salt while retaining water. Their usual habitat is desert shrub.
View Wikipedia Record: Dipodomys microps

Infraspecies

Dipodomys microps alfredi (Gunnison Island kangaroo rat)
Dipodomys microps aquilonius
Dipodomys microps bonnevillei
Dipodomys microps celsus (Chisel-toothed Kangaroo Rat)
Dipodomys microps centralis
Dipodomys microps idahoensis
Dipodomys microps leucotis (Marble Canyon kangaroo rat)
Dipodomys microps levipes
Dipodomys microps microps
Dipodomys microps occidentalis
Dipodomys microps preblei
Dipodomys microps russeolus (Dolphin Island chisel-toothed kangaroo rat)
Dipodomys microps subtenuis

EDGE Analysis

Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) 
2
 Unique (100)
Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) 
18
 Unique & Vulnerable (100)
ED Score: 6.09
EDGE Score: 1.96
Learn more at EDGE of Existence programme

Attributes

Adult Weight [1]  53 grams
Birth Weight [1]  4 grams
Diet [2]  Carnivore (Invertebrates), Frugivore, Granivore, Herbivore
Diet - Fruit [2]  20 %
Diet - Invertibrates [2]  20 %
Diet - Plants [2]  30 %
Diet - Seeds [2]  30 %
Forages - Ground [2]  100 %
Female Maturity [3]  4 months 28 days
Gestation [1]  31 days
Litter Size [1]  2
Litters / Year [3]  1
Maximum Longevity [3]  4 years
Nocturnal [4]  Yes
Snout to Vent Length [3]  6 inches (16 cm)
Speed [1]  13.041 MPH (5.83 m/s)

Ecoregions

Name Countries Ecozone Biome Species Report Climate Land
Use
Great Basin montane forests United States Nearctic Temperate Coniferous Forests
Great Basin shrub steppe United States Nearctic Deserts and Xeric Shrublands
Mojave desert United States Nearctic Deserts and Xeric Shrublands
Snake-Columbia shrub steppe United States Nearctic Deserts and Xeric Shrublands

Protected Areas

Prey / Diet

Atriplex confertifolia (shadscale)[1]

Prey / Diet Overlap

Competing SpeciesCommon Prey Count
Dipodomys ordii (Ord's kangaroo rat)1
Lepus californicus (Black-tailed Jackrabbit)1
Neotoma cinerea (bushy-tailed woodrat)1
Reithrodontomys megalotis (western harvest mouse)1

Predators

Bubo virginianus (Great Horned Owl)[5]
Buteo regalis (Ferruginous Hawk)[5]
Canis latrans (Coyote)[5]
Felis silvestris (Wildcat)[5]

Consumers

Parasitized by 
Fahrenholzia pinnata[5]
Meringis deserti[6]
Meringis dipodomys[6]
Meringis parkeri[6]
Trichuris dipodomis <Unverified Name>[7]

Range Map

External References

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Dipodomys microps, V. Hayssen, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 389, pp. 1-9 (1991)
♦ 2Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027
♦ 3Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109
♦ 4Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 01, 2010 at animaldiversity.org
♦ 5Jorrit H. Poelen, James D. Simons and Chris J. Mungall. (2014). Global Biotic Interactions: An open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics.
♦ 6International Flea Database
♦ 7Gibson, D. I., Bray, R. A., & Harris, E. A. (Compilers) (2005). Host-Parasite Database of the Natural History Museum, London
Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0