Species: Dipodomys ordii
Ord's Kangaroo Rat
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Rodentia
Family
Heteromyidae
Genus
Dipodomys
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
rat kangourou d'Ord
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Rodents
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Rodentia - Heteromyidae - Dipodomys - , now recognized as a distinct species. See Robertson et al. (1992) for information on geographic variation on the Llano Estacado and adjacent areas of Texas.
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - false - false
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Feeds on a wide variety of seeds (mainly of grasses and forbs). May eat green vegetation when available. Eats some insects and other arthropods. Stores food in burrow.
Reproduction Comments
Reproductive patterns vary geographically; reproduction generally begins with appearance of green vegetation. Females are seasonally polyestrous. In New Mexico breeding may last from February-June; in Texas from August-February, August-March in Oklahoma; in Canada breeding occurs in spring. Gestation is 28-32 days. Average litter size is 3, varies with conditions. Sexual mature in about 83 days. In Oklahoma, many produce 2 litters per year in favorable years, and females born early in season produce a litter before end of same season (Caire et al. 1989). Drought may inhibit reproduction.
Ecology Comments
Solitary except during breeding season. Population density in Nevada was 1-5/2.7 ha; in Texas, 10-27/ha; up to 53/ha in some areas. Annual home range about 1 ha or less. May live at least 2 years. Predators include rattlesnakes, skunks, coyotes, foxes, owls, etc. With other kangaroo rats, affects vegetation structure and plant species diversity in the Chihuahuan Desert (Heske et al. 1993).
Length
24
Weight
52
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-08
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-08
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
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Global Range
Mexican Highlands, Great Plains, and Great Basin of western North America: southern Alberta and Saskatchewan (Gummer, 1995 COSEWIC report)to southern Hidalgo, west to southern Washington, Oregon, northeastern California, Arizona, and northeastern Sonora; east to southwestern North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and western Texas (Garrison and Best 1990).