Narrow-faced kangaroo rat
Dipodomys venustus (Merriam, 1904)
The narrow-faced kangaroo rat (Dipodomys venustus) is a species in the family Heteromyidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 72 g to 82 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the narrow-faced kangaroo rat
- Weight
- 72 g – 82 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 30.4 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the narrow-faced kangaroo rat live?
Not recorded
What is the narrow-faced kangaroo rat?
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
From the Wikipedia article “Narrow-faced kangaroo rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Narrow-faced_kangaroo_rat&oldid=1375223487), 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 narrow-faced kangaroo rat endangered?
The narrow-faced kangaroo rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- 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 Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the narrow-faced kangaroo rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyHeteromyidae
- genusDipodomys
- SpeciesDipodomys venustus (Merriam, 1904)
Synonyms Perodipus venustus
Other names and names in other languages (8)
- tarbíkomyš úzkohalaváCzech
- Rata canguro californianaSpanish
- santacruzinkengurottaFinnish
- ホソガオカンガルーネズミJapanese
- Langøret KengurumusNorwegian Bokmål
- Santa Cruz KangoeroegofferDutch
- Szczuroskoczek wąskolicyPolish
- Узкомордый кенгуровый прыгунRussian
Relatives of the narrow-faced 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
CompareNarrow-faced kangaroo rat vs Desert kangaroo ratNarrow-faced kangaroo rat vs San Quintin kangaroo ratNarrow-faced kangaroo rat vs Merriam's kangaroo ratNarrow-faced kangaroo rat vs Ord's kangaroo rat
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the narrow-faced kangaroo rat?
An adult narrow-faced kangaroo rat weighs 72 g – 82 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the narrow-faced kangaroo rat endangered?
The narrow-faced kangaroo rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long is the narrow-faced kangaroo rat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 30.4 days.
What kind of animal is the narrow-faced kangaroo rat?
The narrow-faced kangaroo rat (Dipodomys venustus) 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). Narrow-faced kangaroo rat (Dipodomys venustus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/narrow-faced-kangaroo-rat
“Narrow-faced kangaroo rat (Dipodomys venustus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/narrow-faced-kangaroo-rat.
@misc{narrow_faced_kangaroo_rat_2026,
title = {Narrow-faced kangaroo rat (Dipodomys venustus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/narrow-faced-kangaroo-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}