likely to suffer severe deterioration (U.S. Depart- 

 ment of the Interior 1973), and such use should 

 be curtailed. 



Fitch, H. S. 1948. Habits and economic relation- 

 ships of the Tulare kangaroo rat. J. Mammal. 

 29:5-35. 



AUTHORITY 



Aryan Roest 



Biological Sciences Department 

 California Polytechnic State University 

 San Luis Obispo, California 93407 



PREPARER'S COMMENTS 



One reason for preserving this distinctive iso- 

 lated population of kangaroo rats is its scientific 

 status. From its first description in 1907 to the 

 time of Boulware's publication (1943), it was 

 recognized as a separate species. While no avail- 

 able evidence indicates that it should not be con- 

 sidered a subspecies of D. heermanni, Boulware 

 (1943:393) found the characters of the Morro 

 Bay kangaroo rat to be most different from its 

 nearest neighbor (Z). h. jolonensis) and most simi- 

 lar to a more removed southern relative (Z). h. 

 arenae). Further study on the taxonomic position 

 of the Morro Bay kangaroo rat is indicated. The 

 species has a high reproductive potential and col- 

 lection of a few specimens for critical examina- 

 tion would present no danger to the population. 



The population of this subspecies is continu- 

 ously declining and without protective measures, 

 'the Morro Bay kangaroo rat is almost certainly 

 doomed to extinction.' (Congdon and Roest 

 1970). 



LITERATURE CITED/SELECTED 

 REFERENCES 



Boulware, J. T. 1943. Two new subspecies of 

 kangaroo rats (genus Dipodomys) from south- 

 ern California. Univ. California Publ. Zool. 

 46:391-396. 



Congdon, J., and A. Roest. 1975. Status of the 

 endangered Morro Bay kangaroo rat. J. 

 Mammal. 56:679-683. 



Csuti, B. A. 1971. Karyotypes of kangaroo rats 

 from southern California. J. Mammal. 52: 

 202-206. 



Grinnell, J. 1922. A geographical study of the 

 kangaroo rats of California. Univ. California 

 Publ. Zool. 24:1-124. 



Gustafson, J. 1978. Morro Bay kangaroo rat land 

 acquisition. California Dep. Fish Game Non- 

 game Wildl. Invest. Final rep. E-1-1. 3 pp. 



Kenagy, G. J. 1976. Field observations of male 

 fighting, drumming, and copulation in the 

 Great Basin kangaroo rat {Dipodomys mi- 

 crops).]. Mammal. 57:781-785. 



Merriam, C. H. 1907. Descriptions of ten new 

 kangaroo rats. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 

 20:75-80. 



Roest, A. 1977. Distribution and population esti- 

 mate of the Morro Bay kangaroo rat. Califor- 

 nia Dep. Fish Game Nongame Wildl. Invest 

 Final Rep. E-1-1. 19 pp. 



Rosenzweig, M. L. 1973. Habitat selection experi- 

 ments with a pair of coexisting heteromyid 

 rodent species. Ecology 54: 111-117. 



Stewart, G. R. and A. I. Roest. 1960. Distribution 

 and habits of kangaroo rats at Morro Bay. J. 

 Mammal. 41:126-129. 



Tappe, D. T. 1941. Natural history of the Tulare 

 kangaroo rat. J. Mammal. 22:117-148. 



U.S. Department of the Interior. 1973. Threatened 

 wildlife of the United States. Resource Publ. 

 114.289 pp. 



PREPARED/UPDATED BY 



National Fish and Wildlife Laboratory 

 1300 Blue Spruce Drive 

 Fort ColHns, Colorado 80524 



