240 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA [No. 55 



DIPODOMYS HEERMANNI CALIFORNICUS MEBBIAM 

 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA KANGAROO RAT 



Dipodomys calif ornicus Merriam, North Amer. Fauna No. 4, p. 49, 1890. 



Type. Collected at Ukiah, Mendocino County, Calif., by T. S. Palmer, May 4, 

 1889. 



General characters. Largest of the kangaroo rats found in Oregon; form 

 compact, with large head and hooded ears ; tail very long and slender, with well- 

 developed terminal white-tipped brush ; hind legs and feet very long ; feet with 

 four toes and sharp, nearly straight nails; hands small, with short thumb 

 and slightly curved nails; cheek pouches ample and fur-lined; skull broadly 

 triangular, with inflated mastoids and grooved upper incisors. Upper parts dark 

 rich buff, heavily clouded with dusky, becoming blackish on nose, ears, hams, 

 soles, and along top and bottom of tail ; lower parts, feet, the tip, sides, and 

 base of tail, stripe across hams, and ear and brow spots, pure white. 



Measurements. Average of typical adults : Total length, 312 mm ; tail, 184 ; 

 foot, 46; ear (dry), 14. 



Distribution and habitat. These large, dark kangaroo rats occupy 

 the interior valleys of northern California from near San Francisco 

 Bay north into southern Oregon in the Klamath Valley (fig. 53). 

 There are specimens from Klamath Falls, Tule Lake, and Swan Lake 

 Valley in Klamath County. The specimen from Swan Lake Valley 

 was collected by Elmer Applegate in 1898. They occupy upper 

 Sonoran Zone valleys, usually in the open but in places among the 

 chaparral on lower slopes of the foothills. 



General habits. Like other kangaroo rats these animals are noc- 

 turnal burrowers, usually keeping the doorways of the burrows 

 closed during the day, and preferring mellow or sandy soil, but 

 sometimes burrowing in hard clays or gravels. The long, paired 

 tracks of the two hind feet are often seen in dusty trails or sandy 

 places near their haunts. In sand or soft ground they make con- 

 spicuous trails from one burrow to another or from the burrows 

 away among the grass and small plants, but often they live where 

 the ground is so hard that trails are not conspicuous. 



Breeding habits. The females have 3 pairs of mammae 2 ingui- 

 nal and 1 pectoral and sets of 2 and 4 embryos have been recorded 

 in April and September. 



Food habits. The ample cheek pouches of these little animals 

 yield some light on the food habits. Berries and seeds of the 

 manzanita, seeds of buckbrush (Oeanothus cuneatus), rabbitbrush 

 (Chrysothamnm), lupines, bur-clover, wild oats, and some small 

 tubers have been found in the pockets, and there is usually much 

 chaff and refuse from seeds of many wild grasses and other plants 

 scattered about the burrows. The animals are fond of rolled oats 

 and are said to do some damage in grainfields by cutting down the 

 stalks of grain for the seeds. During the long, dry season they 

 must depend on green vegetation, roots, and tubers for their mois- 

 ture, as usually no water is available where they range. 



Economic status. Owing to their general scarcity these kangaroo 

 rats are of very little consequence, but locally they may do slight 

 mischief in grainfields or cause a slight check on reproduction of 

 grass and other forage plants by the consumption of seeds. With 

 the destruction of their natural enemies, foxes, coyotes, owls, and 

 snakes, they may at some future time become numerous and require 

 artificial control. 



