NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat
Dipodomys venustus (Merriam, 1904)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Exhibit in the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Pacific Grove, California, USA. Photography was permitted without restriction in the museum.
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Open encyclopedia reference
The narrow-faced kangaroo rat (Dipodomys venustus) is one of almost 20 species of kangaroo rats, a rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to California in the United States.
Like all other heteromyids, the dental formula of Dipodomys venustus is 1.0.1.31.0.1.3 × 2 = 20.
Narrow-faced kangaroo rats lives within chaparral, mixed chaparral, and on sandy soils with oak or pine. They are distributed along West-central California in the coastal mountains. They have been divided into three subspecies:
Dipodomys venustus venustus (Santa Cruz kangaroo rat), which inhabit the Santa Cruz Mountains and Mount Hamilton range, the latter a central sub-range of the Diablo Range
Dipodomys venustus elephantinus (Elephant-eared or big-eared kangaroo rat), which inhabit the Gabilan Range and southern Diablo Range
Dipodomys venustus sanctiluciae (Santa Lucia kangaroo rat); which inhabit the Santa Lucia Range
Wikipedia contributors, Narrow-faced kangaroo rat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:06:51.049026+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dipodomys venustus (Merriam, 1904)
- Name authority
- (Merriam, 1904)
- Common name
- Narrow-faced 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderCastorimorpha A. E. Wood, 1955
- familyHeteromyidae Gray, 1868
- subfamilyDipodomyinae Gervais, 1853
- genusDipodomys Gray, 1841
- speciesDipodomys venustus (Merriam, 1904)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dipodomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Agile Kangaroo RatDipodomys agilis Gambel, 1848 | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| California Kangaroo RatDipodomys californicus Merriam, 1890 | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Desert Kangaroo RatDipodomys deserti Stephens, 1887 | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Texas Kangaroo RatDipodomys elator Merriam, 1894 | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Merriam's Kangaroo RatDipodomys merriami Mearns, 1890 | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chisel-toothed Kangaroo RatDipodomys microps (Merriam, 1904) | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Nelson's Kangaroo RatDipodomys nelsoni Merriam, 1907 | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ord's Kangaroo RatDipodomys ordii Woodhouse, 1853 | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Phillips' Kangaroo RatDipodomys phillipsii Gray, 1841 | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dulzura Kangaroo RatDipodomys simulans (Merriam, 1904) | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Banner-tailed Kangaroo RatDipodomys spectabilis Merriam, 1890 | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Stephens' kangaroo ratDipodomys stephensi (Merriam, 1907) | HeteromyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Perodipus venustus Merriam, 1904 Merriam, 1904 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180248 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.
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:6D9LT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.