The Gulf Coast kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys compactus'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are roden ...

in the family

Heteromyidae Heteromyidae is a family of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice and spiny pocket mice. Most heteromyids live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, though species within the ...

found in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

and the state of Texas in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Its appearance and ecology are very similar to those of its putative

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

Ord's kangaroo rat Ord's kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys ordii'') is a kangaroo rat native to western North America, specifically the Great Plains and the Great Basin, with its range extending from extreme southern Canada to central Mexico. Ord's kangaroo rat has a f ...

Description

Adult Gulf Coast kangaroo rats are about long including a tail of about . There are two distinct color forms, an ashy gray and a reddish- or yellowish-buff. In both cases the purest color is on the sides and flanks with hairs in the dorsal region having dark tips giving a blackish sheen. The cheeks are white and the ears and upper and lower tail stripes are brown. This species is generally paler in color than other kangaroo rats and can be distinguished from the Ord's kangaroo rat by its shorter, uncrested tail and its shorter, coarser fur.

Distribution

The Gulf Coast kangaroo rat is found in southeastern Texas, southwards from

Bexar Bexar can refer to: Places: *Bexar County, Texas, containing the city of San Antonio * Bexar, Alabama, a community * Bexar, Arkansas, an unincorporated community *Béxar, a former spelling of Béjar, a city in the province of Salamanca in western S ...

and Gonzales counties, and in Zapata County, in

Mustang Island Mustang Island is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. The island is 18 miles (29 km) long, stretching from Corpus Christi to Port Aransas. The island is oriented generally northeast–southwest, with the Gulf ...

and

Padre Island Padre Island is the largest of the Texas barrier islands and the world's longest barrier island. The island is located along Texas's southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is noted for its white sandy beaches. Meaning ''father'' in Spanish, ...

, just off the coast of Texas, and in the barrier islands off the state of

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

in Mexico.

Ecology

The Gulf Coast kangaroo rat is mainly nocturnal and feeds on seeds which it collects in its cheek pouches and carries back to its burrow. It lives in sparsely-vegetated locations with sandy soils, often among dunes and normally on the down-wind slope of a dune. Plants found growing in the vicinity include

sea oats ''Uniola paniculata'', also known as sea oats, seaside oats, araña, and arroz de costa, is a tall subtropical grass that is an important component of coastal sand dune and beach plant communities in the southeastern United States, eastern Mex ...

(''Uniola paniculata''),

bluestem grass Bluestem can refer to various grasses: * Little bluestem (''Schizachyrium scoparium'') * Big bluestem (''Andropogon gerardii'') and other species of the genus ''Andropogon'' * Species in the genus ''Dichanthium'' * Cane bluestem and Caucasian blu ...

(''Andropogon''),

saltgrass ''Distichlis spicata'' is a species of grass known by several common names, including seashore saltgrass, inland saltgrass, and desert saltgrass. This grass is native to the Americas, where it is widespread. It can be found on other continents a ...

(''Distichlis''), fringe-rushes (''Fimbristylis''), sunflowers (''Helianthus'') and croton (''Croton''). In sparse

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under g ...

(''Prosopis'') savannah in Texas it is associated with wiregrasses (''Aristida''),

hairy grama ''Bouteloua hirsuta'', commonly known as hairy grama, is a perennial short prairie grass that is native throughout much of North America, including the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies region, as well as Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: Méxic ...

(''Bouteloua hirsuta'') and hooded windmill grass (''Chloris cucullata''), as well as prickly pear (''Opuntia'').

Status

The population trend of the Gulf Coast kangaroo rat appears to be steady and no particular threats have been identified. In suitable habitat it is quite common and the IUCN has listed it as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q303588

Gulf Coast Kangaroo Rat The Gulf Coast kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys compactus'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae found in Mexico and the state of Texas in the United States. Its appearance and ecology are very similar to those of its putative sister speci ...

Mammals of the United States Mammals of Mexico Mammals described in 1889 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot