Stephens's Kangaroo Rat

Dipodomys stephensi Stephens' Kangaroo Rat
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Heteromyidae
Genus:	Dipodomys
Species:	D. stephensi
Binomial name
Dipodomys stephensi (Merriam, 1907)

Stephens' Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys stephensi, is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to the Southern California region of the United States, primarily in western Riverside County.^[2]

The natural habitat of Stephens' Kangaroo Rat is sparsely-vegetated temperate grassland.^[3] This habitat has been destroyed or modified for agriculture throughout the species' range; as a result, Stephens' Kangaroo Rat is listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It occurs sympatrically with the Agile Kangaroo Rat, but tends to prefer few shrubs and gravelly soils to the Agile's preference for denser shrubs.^[4]

References

1. ^ Linzey, A.V. & NatureServe (Williams, D.F. & Hammerson, G.) (2008). Dipodomys stephensi. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 14 January 2009.
2. ^ SIBR database; Stephens' Kangaroo Rat. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
3. ^ Bleich, Vernon C. 1977. "Dipodomys stephensi". Mammalian Species 73:1-3.[1]
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, J. L. 2005. Family Heteromyidae. pp. 844–858 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.