Agile Kangaroo Rat

Dipodomys agilis Agile Kangaroo Rat
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Heteromyidae
Genus:	Dipodomys
Species:	D. agilis
Binomial name
Dipodomys agilis Gambel, 1848

The Agile Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys agilis, is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in Baja California, Mexico and southern California in the United States.

Relatively little information has been published on the natural history, life history, ecology, or behavior of the Agile Kangaroo Rat. The species appears to be part of the Californian kangaroo rat radiation, which is derived from a common ancestor with Ord's Kangaroo Rat.^[2] Best compared 19 morphological measurements from specimens from 34 populations across the species range, and concluded that the species is monotypic. ^[3] An observational study found distinct habitat differences between the Agile and Stephens's Kangaroo Rats, with the Agile preferring more shrubs and lighter soils.^[4]

References

1. ^ Linzey, A.V. & Hammerson, G. (2008). "Dipodomys agilis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/6684. Retrieved 02 February 2010. 
2. ^ Hafner, John C., Jessica E. Light, David J. Hafner, Mark S. Hafner, Emily Reddington, Duke S. Rogers, and Brett R. Riddle. 2007. “Basal Clades and Molecular Systematics of Heteromyid Rodents.” Journal of Mammalogy 88 (5) (October 1): 1129-1145.[1]
3. ^ Best, Troy L. 1983. “Intraspecific Variation in the Agile Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys agilis).” Journal of Mammalogy 64 (3): 426-436. doi:10.2307/1380355.
4. ^ Price, Mary V., William S. Longland, and Ross L. Goldingay. 1991. “Niche Relationships of Dipodomys agilis and D. stephensi: Two Sympatric Kangaroo Rats of Similar Size.” American Midland Naturalist 126 (1) (July 1): 172-186. doi:10.2307/2426161.

• Patton, James L. (16 November 2005). "Family Heteromyidae (pp. 844-858)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). p. 844. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=12700004.