Narrow-faced kangaroo rat
| Narrow-faced kangaroo rat | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Heteromyidae |
| Genus: | Dipodomys |
| Species: | D. venustus |
| Binomial name | |
| Dipodomys venustus (Merriam, 1904) | |
The narrow-faced kangaroo rat (Dipodomys venustus) is one of almost 20 species of kangaroo rats, a rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to California in the United States.
Like all other heteromyids, the dental formula of Dipodomys venustus is 1.0.1.31.0.1.3 × 2 = 20.
Narrow-faced kangaroo rats lives within chaparral, mixed chaparral, and on sandy soils with oak or pine. They are distributed along West-central California in the coastal mountains. They have been divided into three subspecies:
- Dipodomys venustus venustus (Santa Cruz kangaroo rat), which inhabit the Santa Cruz Mountains and Mount Hamilton range, the latter a central sub-range of the Diablo Range
- Dipodomys venustus elephantinus (Elephant-eared or big-eared kangaroo rat), which inhabit the Gabilan Range and southern Diablo Range
- Dipodomys venustus sanctiluciae (Santa Lucia kangaroo rat); which inhabit the Santa Lucia Range