Merriam's Kangaroo Rat
Dipodomys merriami
Summary 6
Merriam's kangaroo rat, Dipodomys merriami, is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. The species name commemorates Clinton Hart Merriam.
Description 7
"Like all members of the family Heteromyidae, Merriam's Kangaroo Rat is found only in the New World. Many kangaroo rats have rather specific habitat preferences, but Merriam's Kangaroo Rat is not one of these. It can inhabit arid regions where the ground is predominantly rocks, gravel, sand, or clay. Like other kangaroo rats (and kangaroo mice), it specializes in bipedal locomotion, which means that it usually moves around by hopping on two feet, like a chubby little kangaroo. The hindquarters of kangaroo rats and mice are strong and well developed to support this method of locomotion. Some kangaroo rats can leap 2 m (more than 6 feet) at a single bound."
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Sources and Credits
- (c) J. N. Stuart, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/21786539@N03/5727367252
- (c) 1999 California Academy of Sciences, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=1133&one=T
- (c) Liam O'Brien, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Liam O'Brien
- (c) Cullen Hanks, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Cullen Hanks
- (c) nlindsay, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipodomys_merriami
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/16146840
