Dipodomys ordii, Woodhouse, 1853
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6611160 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6608098 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3C3D87A6-876D-B137-1B01-5443F8D2F61E |
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treatment provided by |
Carolina |
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scientific name |
Dipodomys ordii |
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55. View Plate 11: Heteromyidae
Ord’s Kangaroo Rat
French: Rat-kangourou d'Ord / German: Ord-Kangururatte / Spanish: Rata canguro de Ord
Other common names: Five-toed Kangaroo Rat
Taxonomy. Dipodomys ordii Woodhouse, 1853 View in CoL ,
El Paso, El Paso Co., Texas, USA.
Based on molecular sequence analyses, D. ordii 1s a member of the ordii species group along with D. compactus , which it closely resembles. Thirty-two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
D.o.celeripesDurrant&Hall,1939—WUSA(GreatBasinDesertofNENevadaandNWUtah).
D.o.chapmaniMearns,1890—SWUSA(NSonoranDesertofNWArizona).
D.o.cinderensisHardy,1944—SWUSA(GreatBasinDesertofSWUtah).
D.o.cineraceusGoldman,1939—WUSA(D.o.I,GreatSaltLake,NWUtah).
D.o.cupidineusGoldman,1924—SWUSA(NofGrandCanyoninSWUtahandNWArizona).
D.o.evexusGoldman,1933—WUSA(valleyoftheupperArkansasRiver,abovetheRoyalGorge,CColorado).
D.o.extractusSetzer,1949—NMexico(restrictedtotheSamalayucasanddunes,NChihuahua).
D.o.fetosusDurrant&Hall,1939—WUSA(SEGreatBasinDesert,ECNevadaandWCUtah).
D.o.inaquosusHall,1941—WUSA(NGreatBasinDesertinNCNevada).
D.o.longipesMerriam,1890—SWUSA(PaintedDesertofSEUtah,SWColorado,NEArizona,andNWNewMexico).
D.o.luteousGoldman,1917—WUSA(NGreatPlainsfromWSouthDakota,SEMon-tana,NNebraska,toNEColorado).
D.o.mediusSetzer,1949—SWUSA(HighPlains[LlanoEstacado]ofC&SENewMexicoandWTexas).
D.o.monoensisGrinnell,1919—WUSA(MonoBasinofCaliforniaandWGreatBasinDesertofWCNevada).
D.o.montanusBaird,1855—SWUSA(SanLuisValleyofSCColoradoandadjacentNCNewMexico).
D.o.nexilisGoldman,1933—SWUSA(SEUtahandadjacentSWColorado).
D.o.pallidusDurrant&Setzer,1945—WUSA(EGreatBasinDesertofNWUtah).
D.o.panguitchensisHardy,1942—SWUSA(knownonlyfromSPanguitch,GarfieldCounty,SCUtah).
D.o.priscusHoffmeister,1942—WUSA(aridintermountainbasinsofSWMontana,NEUtah,andNWColorado).
D.o.pullusS.Anderson,1972—NMexico(WChihuahuanDesert,WCChihuahua).
D.o.wintensisDurrant&Setzer,1945—WUSA(UintahBasin,NEUtah).
D. o. utahensis Merriam, 1904 — W USA (NE margin of the Great Basin Desert, NC Utah). View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 75-152 mm, tail mean 128 mm, ear mean 12 mm, hindfoot mean 39 mm; weight mean 52 g. Male Ord’s Kangaroo Rats are slightly larger than females. This is a small-sized to medium-sized kangaroo rat, with five toes on hindfeet (including small claw on side of hindfoot) and relatively short tail and ears. Upper parts vary from brownish to reddish to blackish, depending on subspecies;tail is bicolored, with a dull brownish-black crest and tuft. Chromosomal complement has 2n =72 and FN = 140. Ord’s Kangaroo Rat closely resembles the Gulf Coast Kangaroo Rat ( D. compactus ) but has a longertail and wider skull. Compared with the other two sympatric, five-toed kangaroo rats, Ord’s Kangaroo Rat has a shorter tail and awlshaped lower incisors compared with the Chisel-toothed Kangaroo Rat ( D. microps ), and it is smaller, with relatively short tail and (in the area of sympatry) shorter hindfoot than the Panamint Kangaroo Rat ( D. panamintinus ). All other kangaroo rats sympatric with Ord’s Kangaroo Rat have four toes on hindfoot.
Habitat. Semiarid grasslands, mixed grasslands, scrublands, and pinyon-juniper woodland. Ord’s Kangaroo Rat is most abundant in the juniper ( Juniperus , Cupressaceae ) community with an understory of rabbitbrush ( Chrysothamnus , Asteraceae ) and winterfat ( Krascheninnikovia , Amaranthaceae ). Dominant plants in other communities include sagebrush ( Artemisia , Asteraceae ), saltbush ( Atriplex , Amaranthaceae ), snakeweed ( Gutierrezia , Asteraceae ), yucca ( Yucca , Asparagaceae ), and mesquite ( Prosopis , Fabaceae ). Essential habitat common to all of these communities is sandy, fine-textured soils. Overits extensive distribution, Ord’s Kangaroo Rat is found along with other rodents, including at least five other kangaroo rats (Merriam’s Kangaroo Rat, D. merriami ; the Chisel-toothed Kangaroo Rat; Nelson’s Kangaroo Rat, D. nelson; the Panamint Kangaroo Rat, and the Banner-tailed Kangaroo Rat, D. spectabilis ). In New Mexico, Ord’s Kangaroo Rat prefers grass habitat, whereas the sympatric Merriam’s Kangaroo Rat occupies stands of creosote bush ( Larrea , Zygophyllaceae ). In Nevada , spatial overlap between Ord’s Kangaroo Rat and the Chisel-toothed Kangaroo Rat occurs only in summer; between Ord’s Kangaroo Rat and the Panamint Kangaroo Rat in winter, spring, and summer; and year-round between Ord’s Kangaroo Rat (more restricted to sandy soils) and Merriam’s Kangaroo Rat (which ranges through habitats of the other three species). Microhabitat selection and specialization (soil type, dominant vegetation, and diet), and dominance hierarchy structures, appear to promote coexistence of these four species. In the laboratory, dominance hierarchy appears to follow size, with Ord’s Kangaroo Rat subordinate to the largest species (the Panamint Kangaroo Rat) and dominant to the smallest (Merriam’s Kangaroo Rat).
Food and Feeding. Ord’s Kangaroo Rat forages mostly on the ground, but it has been observed climbing to collect seed heads of low grasses and forbs. Diet includes seeds of a wide variety of forbs, grasses, and shrubs and leaves, green vegetation, and insects. Although insects make up only c.10% of annual diets, they include up to 35% adult beetles and 27% lepidopteran larvae in some seasons.
Breeding. Breeding of Ord’s Kangaroo Rat occurs in 1-2 season/year, with some reproductive activity in all months. In the central Great Plains, breeding season begins in August-September and ends in March; in Texas, breeding occurs in August—May. Timing and rate of reproduction are closely associated with precipitation, food supply, and densities. Average litter sizes are 3-4 young (range 1-6), and there may be two litters each year.
Activity patterns. Duration of nocturnal foraging by Ord’s Kangaroo Rats increases under cloud cover, particularly in winter, and decreases during inclement weather, clear nights, and under moonlight, and ceases altogether when temperatures are below -11°C.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Depending on locality and suitability of habitat, densities of Ord’s Kangaroo Rats may be 10-50 ind/ha. Densities are correlated with rainfall and primary plant productivity.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.
Bibliography. Alexander & Riddle (2005), Best (1993a, 1999f), Ceballos & Oliva (2005), Eisenberg (1963, 1993), Garrison & Best (1990), Hafner et al. (2007), Hall (1981), Ingles (1954), Jones (1993), Linzey & Timm (2008), Patton & Rogers (1993), Williams et al. (1993).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
