Subspeciation in the Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys ordii: KU. Vol 1 No 23Setzer, Henry W.
Science
Subspeciation in the Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys ordii: KU. Vol 1 No 23
Setzer, Henry W.
Kangaroo rats
_Range._--Low valleys of west-central Utah in Tooele, Juab and
Millard counties; marginal occurrences are: all in Utah, 18 mi. SW
Orr's Ranch, 7 mi. S Fish Springs, Hinckley and Lynndyl.
_Diagnosis._--Size medium (see measurements). Color light, entire
dorsal surface Light Pinkish Cinnamon, purest on sides and flanks,
with but slight suffusion of black on upper parts; cheeks white;
arietiform markings, pinnae of ears, plantar surfaces of hind feet,
dorsal and ventral stripes of tail, brownish. Skull large; auditory
bullae long, wide and well inflated; external auditory meatus
elongate with a notch on the dorsal border; nasals long and flaring
distally.
_Comparisons._--From _Dipodomys ordii celeripes_, _D. o. pallidus_
differs in: Size larger; color generally darker, although some
specimens are lighter; skull larger; nasals longer and more flared
distally; interorbital width greater; auditory bullae larger;
external auditory meatus larger.
From _Dipodomys ordii fetosus_, _D. o. pallidus_ differs in: Size
larger; color lighter; ventral stripe of tail indistinct as
opposed to pronounced; skull larger; nasals longer and more flared
distally; auditory bullae larger; external auditory meatus larger;
palate shorter and broader.
For comparisons with _Dipodomys ordii marshalli_ and _Dipodomys
ordii utahensis_ see accounts of those subspecies.
_Remarks._--Among named subspecies of _Dipodomys ordii_, _D. o.
pallidus_ most closely resembles, morphologically, _D. a. marshalli_,
its nearest geographic neighbor to the north and east. Intergradation
with _Dipodomys ordii utahensis_ is noted in color and intermediacy of
body size of specimens from Clover Creek. The majority of cranial
characters, however, show these animals to be referable to _D. o.
utahensis_ rather than to _D. o. pallidus_. Specimens taken at Lynndyl
and Hinckley show intergradation in size of body, length and
configuration of the nasals and the degree of inflation of the auditory
bullae between _Dipodomys ordii celeripes_ and _D. o. pallidus_. The
majority of characters studied show these latter animals to be referable
to _D. o. pallidus_. Specimens from 35 and 60 miles west of Delta, in
size of body and shape and inflation of the auditory bullae, are
intermediate between _D. o. pallidus_ and _D. o. celeripes_. These
specimens are here referred to _D. o. celeripes_.
_Specimens examined._--Total, 34, all from Utah, distributed as
follows: _Tooele County_: Old Lincoln Highway, 18 mi. SW Orr's
Ranch in Skull Valley, 4400 ft., 9 (UU). _Juab County_: Fish
Springs, 4400 ft., 4 (UU); 7 mi. S Fish Springs, 4400 ft., 4 (UU).
_Millard County_: 1 mi. N Lynndyl, 4768 ft., 5 (UU); Lynndyl, 4768
ft., 1 (UU); Hinckley, 4600 ft., 11 (UU).
=Dipodomys ordii nexilis= Goldman
_Dipodomys ordii nexilis_ Goldman, Journ. Washington, Acad. Sci.,
23:470, October 5, 1933.
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