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The desert kangaroo rat (Dipodomys deserti) is a rodent species in the family Heteromyidae that is found in desert areas of southwestern North America. [2] It is one of the large kangaroo rats, with a total length greater than 12 inches (300 mm) and a mass greater than 3.2 ounces (91 g).
Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus Dipodomys, are native to arid areas of western North America.The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed this mode of locomotion independently, like several other clades of rodents (e.g., dipodids and hopping mice).
Heteromyidae is a family of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice and spiny pocket mice.Most heteromyids live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, though species within the genus Heteromys are also found in forests and their range extends as far south as northern South America.
The desert rat-kangaroo lived in the desert regions of Australia, including clay pans, loamy flats, sand ridges, and gibber plain habitats. Its native habitat was very arid; cover is sparse, and consists of saltbush and other chenopods and emu bush.
Dipodomyinae is a subfamily of heteromyid rodents, the kangaroo rats and mice. Dipodomyines, as implied by both their common and scientific names, are bipedal ; they also jump exceptionally well. Kangaroo rats and mice are native to desert and semidesert ecosystems of western North America from southern Canada to central Mexico .
A kangaroo rat narrowly escaping an attack by a Mohave rattlesnake. Kangaroo rats are a common prey items for many other desert animals. Typical predators of the Merriam's kangaroo rat include barn owls, great horned owls, coyotes, foxes, badgers, bobcats, and several snake species including sidewinders and glossy snakes.
Though desert birds lack sweat glands, they can still take advantage of evaporative cooling by panting, which cools the trachea and lungs, and gular flapping, which consists of rapidly fluttering the gular skin to move air over the inner mouth and throat. [11] Kangaroo rats and other small mammals use evaporative cooling in a similar way.
Ord's kangaroo rat ranges from southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan to southern Hidalgo, Mexico, and from central Oregon and eastern California east to central Kansas and Oklahoma. [7] Ord's kangaroo rats occur mainly in semiarid, open habitats. In Nevada, they were trapped in desert scrub and gravelly soil, flat pebble desert, and washes ...