Dipodomys elator Merriam 1894
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Heteromyidae
Dipodomys
Dipodomys elator

description: 50.
Texas Kangaroo Rat
Dipodomys elator
French: Rat-kangourou du Texas / German: Texas-Kangururatte / Spanish: Rata canguro de Texas
Other common names: Loring’s Kangaroo Rat
Taxonomy. Dipodomys elator Merriam, 1894,
Henrietta, Clay Co., Texas, USA.
Based on molecular sequence analyses, D. elator is a member of the phillipsii species group, along with D. phillipsii and D. ornatus. Monotypic.
Distribution. SC USA (restricted distribution in NC Texas and adjacent SC Oklahoma).
Descriptive notes. Head-body 99- 140 mm, tail 161-205 mm, ear 13 mm, hindfoot 46 mm; weight 65-90 g. Male Texas Kangaroo Rats are significantly larger than females in most cranial measurements. Tail is 155% of head-body length. Thisis a medium-sized kangaroo rat with four toes on hindfeet and a wide skull. Upper parts are buffy interspersed with black; tail is bicolored, with a prominent white tuft. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 72 and FN = 82. Compared with Phillips’s Kangaroo Rat (D. phillipsii) and the Plateau Kangaroo Rat (D. ornatus), the Texas Kangaroo Rat has a longer whitetail tip (20-25 mm vs. 10-15 mm in the Plateau Kangaroo Rat and 5-15 mm or entirely lacking in Phillips’s Kangaroo Rat). The Texas Kangaroo Rat most resembles the California Kangaroo Rat (D. californicus), a geographically and phyletically distant relative.
Habitat. Sparsely vegetated areas with scattered honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa, Fabaceae) and sparse, short grasses on clay and clay-loam soils. Even when Texas Kangaroo Rats are found in denser vegetation of disturbed areas, they have not been collected more than 0-8 km from mesquite. Burrows are located at bases of mesquite trees and in disturbed areas along fencerows, pasture roads, brush piles, eroded areas, and man-made structures. The Texas Kangaroo Rat avoids sandy and flat area. Burrows are constructed in slightly elevated areas and contain at least six interwoven tunnels with multiple entrances, are 5-12.5 cm in diameter, and are c.45 cm in depth. They contain a nest chamber, usually lined with shredded grass, and multiple food storage tunnels or chambers. Burrow openings usually remain open but are sometimes found plugged with earth.
Food and Feeding. Diet of the Texas Kangaroo Rat contains seeds of grasses, annual forbs, and perennial shrubs (in decreasing order), including cultivated plants such as oats (Avena sativa) and sorghum (Sorghum halepense), both Poaceae, and introduced, weedy annuals. Insects are also eaten.
Breeding. Breeding season of the Texas Kangaroo Rat occurs in January—September.
Activity patterns. The Texas Kangaroo Rat is most activity outside of its burrow is at night, with a peak in activity at 2-3 hours after sunset. Open runways between burrow openings and mesquite shrubs are made and maintained.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Densities of 9-25 ind/ha have been recorded for the Texas Kangaroo Rat. Individuals have been observed traveling up to 300 m along roads at night.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Populations of Texas Kangaroo Rats in Oklahoma are nearly extirpated. Range management practices that result in dense growth of grasses or invasion of non-native grasses have degraded habitats of the Texas Kangaroo Rat, which thrives in heavily grazed or similarly disturbed habitat. Prairie dogs (Cynomys) create improved habitat conditions for the Texas Kangaroo Rat, and extirpation of prairie dogs over most of the distribution of the Texas Kangaroo Rat has negatively affected populations. Its distribution has decreased from eleven to six counties in Texas and Oklahoma, and remaining populations are very fragmented due to increased vegetation.
Bibliography. Alexander & Riddle (2005), Best (1993a), Carter et al. (1985), Ceballos & Oliva (2005), Eisenberg (1963), Goetze & Jones (1999), Hall (1981), Ingles (1954), Jones (1993), Linzey & NatureServe (Wahl et al.) (2008), Patton & Rogers (1993), Williams et al. (1993).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Heteromyidae, pp. 170-233 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 224-225, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6611160