San Quintin Kangaroo Rat

Open encyclopedia reference

The San Quintin kangaroo rat (Dipodomys gravipes) is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it is known only from western Baja California. Its natural habitat includes arid lowlands with sparse vegetation.

The first description of this species was made in 1925 by Laurence M. Huey (1892–1963), an American zoologist. At that time, two large colonies of this kangaroo rat were known, but since then, the area they occupied has been converted to farmland. Until 2017, no specimens had been found since 1986 and the IUCN listed the species as "critically endangered" and possibly extinct. However, in 2017, the species was rediscovered in the Valle Tranquilo Nature Preserve by researchers from the San Diego Natural History Museum; these findings were detailed in a report published in 2018.

Wikipedia contributors, San Quintin kangaroo rat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:39:53.571668+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Dipodomys gravipes Huey, 1925

Name authority

Huey, 1925

Common name

San Quintin Kangaroo Rat

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Heteromyidae

Genus

Dipodomys

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderCastorimorpha A. E. Wood, 1955
13. familyHeteromyidae Gray, 1868
14. subfamilyDipodomyinae Gervais, 1853
15. genusDipodomys Gray, 1841
16. speciesDipodomys gravipes Huey, 1925

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Dipodomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 52 records assigned to Heteromyidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=625223 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:36PMR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.