Fresno kangaroo rat
Dipodomys nitratoides Merriam, 1894
The fresno kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides) is a species in the family Heteromyidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 37.8 g to 43.9 g and live up to 8.32 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Quick facts about the fresno kangaroo rat
- Weight
- 37.8 g – 43.9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 8.32 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 9.7 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 29.4 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3.13 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.63src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the fresno kangaroo rat live?
Not recorded
What is the fresno kangaroo rat?
The Fresno kangaroo rat or San Joaquin kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides) is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to areas within and near the San Joaquin Valley of California in the United States. Habitat destruction due to agricultural development and urbanization has put this species at risk, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as "vulnerable".
There are three subspecies of D. nitratoides:
D. n. exilis (Merriam, 1894) (Fresno subspecies),
D. n. nitratoides (Merriam, 1894) (Tipton subspecies),
D. n. brevinasus (Grinnell, 1920) (short-nose subspecies).
From the Wikipedia article “Fresno kangaroo rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresno_kangaroo_rat&oldid=1370230397), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the fresno kangaroo rat endangered?
The fresno kangaroo rat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.
How is the fresno kangaroo rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyHeteromyidae
- genusDipodomys
- SpeciesDipodomys nitratoides Merriam, 1894
Other names and names in other languages (10)
- San Joaquin kangaroo ratEnglish
- San Joaquin kangaroo ratEnglish
- San Joaquin kangaroo ratEnglish
- San Joaquin Valley kangaroo ratEnglish
- San Joaquin Valley kangaroo ratEnglish
- Rata canguro de San JoaquínSpanish
- fresnonkengurottaFinnish
- サンホキアンカンガルーネズミJapanese
- Szczuroskoczek pędzloogonowyPolish
- Фресновский кенгуровый прыгунRussian
Relatives of the fresno kangaroo rat
Other species in the same genus Dipodomys.

Desert kangaroo rat
Dipodomys deserti

San Quintin kangaroo rat
Dipodomys gravipes

Merriam's kangaroo rat
Dipodomys merriami

Ord's kangaroo rat
Dipodomys ordii

California kangaroo rat
Dipodomys californicus

Gulf coast kangaroo rat
Dipodomys compactus
CompareFresno kangaroo rat vs Desert kangaroo ratFresno kangaroo rat vs San Quintin kangaroo ratFresno kangaroo rat vs Merriam's kangaroo ratFresno kangaroo rat vs Ord's kangaroo rat
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the fresno kangaroo rat?
An adult fresno kangaroo rat weighs 37.8 g – 43.9 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the fresno kangaroo rat endangered?
The fresno kangaroo rat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the fresno kangaroo rat live?
The fresno kangaroo rat has a recorded lifespan of 8.32 years.
How long is the fresno kangaroo rat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 29.4 days.
What kind of animal is the fresno kangaroo rat?
The fresno kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides) belongs to the family Heteromyidae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Fresno kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/fresno-kangaroo-rat
“Fresno kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/fresno-kangaroo-rat.
@misc{fresno_kangaroo_rat_2026,
title = {Fresno kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/fresno-kangaroo-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}