Phillips's kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys phillipsii'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the family

Heteromyidae Heteromyidae is a family of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice and spiny pocket mice. Most heteromyids live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, though species within the ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Its natural habitat is hot deserts. The species is named after John Phillips, an official of a Mexican mining company who sent zoological specimens, including the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

of this kangaroo rat, to the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Description

Phillips's kangaroo rat is a moderate-sized rodent with a small body and a long, banner-like tail. The incisors are smaller and less prominent than those of other kangaroo rats. There are four toes on the hind feet. The

pelage A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

varies from ochre, through cinnamon to brownish/black. There are blackish markings on the face and the tail has dark lateral stripes which join near the white tip. The sexes are similar in appearance, but there is considerable variation in size and colouring over the animal's range. Individuals from southern populations are smaller and paler, and have a total length of about including a tail of . Northern individuals are medium to large, pale-coloured and have a fairly broad skull. Individuals from the central part of the range are medium or large and darker in colour.

Distribution and habitat

Phillips's kangaroo rat is endemic to Mexico. Its range extends from the central part of the State of Durango southwards to the northern part of the State of Oaxaca. At one time, it was present in the

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico (; ), sometimes also called Basin of Mexico, is a highlands plateau in central Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations including Teotihuacan, ...

, but has since died out there. Its altitudinal range is from . The species' typical habitat is arid or semi-arid land with bare ground, short grass, weeds, patches of low thornbrush, prickly pear and other species of

cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

Ecology

Phillips's kangaroo rat is

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

and lives in a burrow by day. Some burrows have a single entrance about in diameter, entering the ground at a slight angle, while others have several entrances a metre or so apart. The tunnels consist of curved cylindrical tubes about in diameter and a terminal chamber. Phillips' kangaroo rat forages on calm nights, even in frosty weather, but do not venture out during severe storms. It appears these kangaroo rats sometimes share their burrows with the silky pocket mouse (''Perognathus flavus''). Little is known of the breeding habits of this kangaroo rat, but females containing two or three embryos were found in June and October, and, when attempts were made to trap the animal, juveniles were caught in seven months of the year. The feeding habits are also obscure, but seeds and small green leaves have been found in the animal's cheek pouches, and

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...

leaves have been found in one burrow.

Status

Phillips's kangaroo rat is common within its extensive range; the population is presumed to be large and seems to be stable. For these reasons, the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

lists the species as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

Taxonomic history

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...

's 1841

species description A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it diff ...

, he named the species ''Dipodomys phillipii''. This has been considered to be a

typographical error A typographical error (often shortened to typo), also called a misprint, is a mistake (such as a spelling or transposition error) made in the typing of printed or electronic material. Historically, this referred to mistakes in manual typesettin ...

considering Gray referred to the species as ''D. phillipsii'' in a paper the following year. Other authors used various spelling;

Elliott Coues Elliott Ladd Coues (; September 9, 1842 – December 25, 1899) was an American army surgeon, historian, ornithologist, and author. He led surveys of the Arizona Territory, and later as secretary of the United States Geological and Geographi ...

used the spelling ''D. phillipsi''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q306215

Phillips's kangaroo rat Phillips's kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys phillipsii'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitat is hot deserts. The species is named after John Phillips, an official of a Mexican mining company ...

Phillips's Kangaroo Rat Phillips's kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys phillipsii'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitat is hot deserts. The species is named after John Phillips, an official of a Mexican mining company ...

Endemic mammals of Mexico Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fauna of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Mexican Plateau