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Dipodomys elephantinus

Big-eared Kangaroo Rat

Order: Rodentia
Family: Heteromyidae

Image of Dipodomys elephantinus
Dipodomys elephantinus - left (Dipodomys venustus - right)
Click to enlarge. (93 kb)

The Big-eared Kangaroo Rat has the longest ears of any kangaroo rat, and weighing in at about 85 g, is one of the largest Dipodomys species in California. It is dark cinnamon in color, with white underparts and brown ears. It lives only in the southern part of the Gabilan Range in San Benito and Monterey Counties, in California. Because of brush fires in the chaparral where it lives, and because of increasing human encroachment on that habitat, the Big-eared Kangaroo Rat is listed as rare by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Predators include owls, foxes, and coyotes.

Also known as:
Elephant-eared Kangaroo Rat

Sexual Dimorphism:
Males are larger than females.

Length:
Average: 326 mm males; 323 mm females
Range: 310-336 mm males; 305-323 mm females

Weight:
Average: 85 g
Range: 79-91 g

References:

Grinnell, J., 1919.  Five new five-toed kangaroo rats of California, p. 43.  University of California Publications in Zoology, 21:43-47.

Links:

Mammal Species of the World

Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account

Distribution of Dipodomys elephantinus

Image of Dipodomys elephantinus
Click to enlarge. (90kb)