Introduction to California Chaparral (California Natural History Guides) by Ronald D. Quinn & Keeley Sterling Dr

Author:Ronald D. Quinn & Keeley, Sterling, Dr. [Quinn, Ronald D.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 2006-09-19T16:00:00+00:00

Kangaroo Rats

Another characteristic group of chaparral rodents are the kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp., family Heteromyidae). They are easy to recognize with their wide triangular heads with large, round shiny black eyes stuck on the sides like onyx jewels, long hind legs and stubby front legs tucked up under their chin, and a very long dark and white tail tipped with a bushy tuft of long hairs (fig. 37). They weigh 1.7 to 3.5 ounces, and more than half of their 10.5 to 13.4 inch head and body length is due to the tail. Five species that look very much alike are found in chaparral, but each local area has only one species. The Delzura Kangaroo Rat (D. simulans) and the Pacific Kangaroo Rat (D. agilis) occupy the chaparral through Baja California and the Transverse Ranges of southern California. Heermann's Kangaroo Rat (D. heermanni) replaces them in the Central Coast Ranges and the foothills of the southern and central Sierra Nevada. The Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat (D. venustus) is found in the chaparral and coastal scrub of the Central Coast Ranges, between northern San Luis Obispo County and the Bay Area. These species are replaced in the chaparral of northern California by the California Kangaroo Rat (D. californicus). These five species are similar in size, appearance, behavior, and habitat requirements. All are nocturnal. Field studies suggest that they are ecological equivalents. That is, they have the same role in each chaparral community. Kangaroo rats are especially abundant in the first few years after a chaparral fire when large spaces between the shrubs provide clear space for hopping about, but they can be found in most chaparral with patches of open ground. Kangaroo rats do not occur in chaparral where the soil is too hard, thin, or rocky for digging, or on steep slopes.

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