{"id":3964,"date":"2025-11-30T14:28:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T20:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/?p=3964"},"modified":"2025-11-30T14:28:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T20:28:53","slug":"kangaroo-rats-dipodomys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/kangaroo-rats-dipodomys\/","title":{"rendered":"Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys)"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Photograph =\u00a0Kangaroo rat [Dipodomys sp], Scott Costello)<\/sup><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Kangaroo rats (Dipodomys) are nocturnal, bipedal rodents of arid and semi-arid North America. In sandy or soft soils, they dig extensive burrow systems that buffer daytime heat and conserve moisture. They carry seeds in external, fur-lined cheek pouches, then cache them underground\u2014behavior that shapes local plant communities. About two dozen species are recognized; several occur across the Mojave, Sonoran, and western Great Basin deserts.<\/p>\n

The Details<\/h3>\n

Burrows and activity: Kangaroo rats construct branching tunnels with sleeping chambers and seed storerooms. By day, entrances are often plugged to stabilize temperature and humidity. Mounds can be broad and conspicuous, and surface runways radiate to feeding areas.<\/p>\n

Diet and water economy: Seeds dominate the diet. Even when fresh vegetation is present, many species rely on dry seed caches, supported by a low metabolic rate and efficient kidneys. They drink when water is available, but they can persist without free water for long periods.<\/p>\n

Range and elevation: While many species favor low deserts, some populations extend onto uplands and high valleys, especially where sandy flats or dunes occur. Local densities vary with soil texture, shrub cover, and recent rainfall.<\/p>\n

Predators and community: Predators include owls, foxes, badgers, coyotes, and snakes. In creosote-bush and mixed-shrub communities, kangaroo rats harvest, eat, and bury seeds, thereby influencing which plants regenerate near their burrows and runways.<\/p>\n

Additional Reading:\u00a0Kangaroo Rats<\/a><\/p>\n

Additional Reading:\u00a0Desert Kangaroo Rat<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Desert <\/a>
Desert kangaroo rat burrows, Kelso, CA, Alan Kotok <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Merriam's <\/a>
Merriam’s kangaroo rat, Marshal Hedin <\/div> <\/div>
\"Fresno <\/a>
Fresno kangaroo rat <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dulzura <\/a>
Dulzura kangaroo rat, Alan Harper <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Desert <\/a>
Desert kangaroo rat, UniProt <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Desert <\/a>
Desert kangaroo rat, Gary Jensen <\/div> <\/div>
\"Desert <\/a>
Desert kangaroo rat tracks, Scott Costello <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photograph =\u00a0Kangaroo rat [Dipodomys sp], Scott Costello) Introduction Kangaroo rats (Dipodomys) are nocturnal, bipedal rodents of arid and semi-arid North America. In sandy or soft soils, they dig extensive burrow systems that buffer daytime heat and conserve moisture. They carry seeds in external, fur-lined cheek pouches, then cache them underground\u2014behavior that shapes local plant communities. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[26,33],"class_list":["post-3964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animals","tag-biology","tag-the-west"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Kangaroo-rat-US-Fish-Wildlife-photo.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3964"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6752,"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3964\/revisions\/6752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}