banner-tailed kangaroo rat
dipodomys spectabilis latin

The banner-tailed kangaroo rat can move rapidly which minimizes energy costs and predation risks.

Banner-tailed kangaroo rat are weaned between 22-25 days.

Banner-tailed kangaroo rats larderhoard on large mounds.

Banner-tailed kangaroo rats mate on mounds and the more successful males chase away rival males.

Banner-tailed kangaroo rats live in dry areas but have more water available to them than Merriam's kangaroo rats.

The banner-tailed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys spectabilis) is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae.

Banner-tailed kangaroo rats also mate in their burrows, unlike Merriam's kangaroo rats.

Mating in banner-tailed kangaroo rats involve more chasing and foot drumming in the male before the females allows him to mate.

Banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) footdrum in the presence of snakes as a form of individual defense and parental care.

Dipodomys spectabilis (Banner-tailed kangaroo rat)

The burrows of Merriam's kangaroo rats are simpler and shallower than those of banner-tailed kangaroo rats.

The banner-tailed kangaroo rat, (Dipodomys spectabilis), produces several complex footdrumming patterns in a number of different contexts, one of which is when it encounters a snake.

The Banner-tailed Kangaroo Rat has been recorded making burrows with several storage chambers up to 25 cm in diameter each, and containing almost six kilograms of stored food.

There is also some variation in length with one of the largest species, the banner-tailed kangaroo rat being six inches in body length and a tail length of eight inches.

The banner-tailed kangaroo rat ranges from Northeastern Arizona southward to Aguascalientes and San Luis Posi, Mexico and from Arizona to Western Texas.

In a similar habitat type in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico, white-throated woodrats denned in sand dunes created by banner-tailed kangaroo rats ("D. spectabilis") around honey mesquite.

Different species of kangaroo rat may have different seed caching strategies to coexist with each other, as is the case for the banner-tailed kangaroo rat and Merriam's kangaroo rat which have overlapping ranges.

These home ranges tend to be small with much activities within 200-300 ft and rarely 600 ft. Home range size can vary within species with Merriam's kangaroo rats having larger home ranges than banner-tailed kangaroo rats.