Merriam's kangaroo rat

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Merriam's kangaroo rat ( Dipodomys merriami )

Merriam's kangaroo rat, Merriam kangaroo rat also, ( Dipodomys merriami ) is a common in southern North America species in the genus of pocket mice.

Features

Merriam's kangaroo rat has a head -body length of 8-14 cm and a tail length of 14-16 cm, so the total length is 22-30 cm. It is 40-45 grams. The silky coat is gray above, on the underside white with narrow dark gray and white stripes on the flanks. The very long, thin tail has a tassel for balancing.

Distribution and habitat

Merriam's kangaroo rat is distributed from southern Arizona to the central eastern Mexico. There they lived in deserts, semi-deserts and dry grasslands.

Way of life

Merriam's kangaroo rat can rapidly move with their relatively large hind legs on the sandy desert soils. The kangaroo rat is a regular dust baths to keep the coat and skin clean. She digs caves. Their diet consists of seeds and Velcro cactus seeds. She lives in groups.

Inventory and risk

Merriam's kangaroo rat is common and widespread. From the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN), the species is classified as not threatened ( LC, Least Concern ).

The two subspecies of Dipodomys merriami and Dipodomys merriami parvus collinus are under threat in California due to habitat loss through development of coastal urban areas.

Source

• David Burnie ( ed.): Animals - The big picture encyclopedia with over 2000 species. Dorling Kindersley, Starnberg 2006, ISBN 3-831-00956-2