Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat

Dipodomys venustus

LCLeast Concern

AI-generated image: Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat close-up sitting upright on sandy ground at night. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy — AI-generated image No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyNarrow-faced Kangaroo Rat in side profile on sandy scrubland at nightAI-generated image No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyNarrow-faced Kangaroo Rat close-up sitting upright on sandy ground at night

The narrow-faced kangaroo rat is named for its slimmer skull and snout, a subtle feature that separates it from other California kangaroo rats sharing its range. It bounds across chaparral and oak woodland on oversized hind feet, foraging for seeds well into the state's coastal mountains. Records below run from near sea level past 1,500 meters, tracing a range confined entirely to California.

Range through the year

Where Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat is seen

Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat is recorded in 1 US state from 36 occurrence records, most heavily in California (36 records).

Current range36 records · 1 states

Occurrence data by state and month

Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat – occurrence records by US state and month (36 total across 1 states)
State	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
California	2	1	2	1	6	6	6	5	·	2	1	4	36

Based on 564 georeferenced US records, 2000-2026. Shading is observation density (where people record sightings), not true abundance. Alaska, Hawaii & Puerto Rico shown as insets.

Explore by state

Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat across 1 state

Occurrence records, conservation status, and the places it turns up, state by state. Open a state for detail, or visit its full page.

CaliforniaNativeRare564 records
State rankUnranked
Notable placesPinnacles National Park · Hastings Natural History Reserve · Ventana Wilderness · Fremont Peak State Park
Countiesrecorded in 7
Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in June–July.
Full California page →All California mammals →

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

SizeNarrow-faced Kangaroo Rat beside a 1.8 m adult, drawn to scale

Body length: 16–16 cm6 in–6 in
Weight: 82–82 g2.9–2.9 oz

Silhouettes drawn to scale against a 1.8 m5 ft 11 in adult.

Elevation

From 200 georeferenced records, the Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat is recorded from 8 m26 ft to 1,519 m4,984 ft, with half of sightings below 423 m1,388 ft.

1,500–1,650 m4,921–5,413 ft

1,350–1,500 m4,429–4,921 ft

1,200–1,350 m3,937–4,429 ft

1,050–1,200 m3,445–3,937 ft

900–1,050 m2,953–3,445 ft

750–900 m2,461–2,953 ft

600–750 m1,969–2,461 ft

450–600 m1,476–1,969 ft

300–450 m984–1,476 ft

150–300 m492–984 ft

8–150 m26–492 ft

Each band shows the share of georeferenced sightings that fall within it. Records cluster where people live and hike, so low, populated elevations are over-represented. Read this as observation density, not true abundance.

Observation peakMay23 recordsBased on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Seasonality from research-grade observation dates across the US (23 records, all years). Reflects when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Best encounter

Where and when to see a Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat

Your best chance: California, in May.

Where: CaliforniaCA
When: May

Life history

The Narrow-faced Kangaroo Rat (82 g2.9 oz) is an omnivore that carries a 30-day gestation, and bears about 2 young per litter.

Reproduction

Gestation: 30days
Litter size: 2youngaverage
Litters / year: 1.5litters

Diet composition

Omnivore

By foraging composition: 30% plant material, 30% seeds & grain, 20% fruit, 20% invertebrates.

30%

20%

Plant material30%
Seeds & grain30%
Fruit20%
Invertebrates20%

Most active at night.

Typical values for the species, not local measurements.

Commonly confused with

Animals people sometimes mistake for the narrow-faced kangaroo rat, and how to tell them apart.

Photo:Cristhian MaceiNaturalist (CC BY 4.0)

Agile kangaroo rat

Dipodomys agilis

How to tell apart Agile kangaroo rat is slightly larger with a broader face, and the two overlap in California's central Coast Ranges where an in-hand skull check is the surest way to tell them apart.

View species page Compare side by side

Federally endangered Morro bay kangaroo rat, last documented in the wild in 1986. (31045316021)

Photo:Pacific Southwest Region USFWS from Sacramento, USWikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Heermann's Kangaroo Rat

Dipodomys heermanni

How to tell apart Heermann's kangaroo rat has a broader head and blunter snout than the slender-faced narrow-faced kangaroo rat, and favors lower, more open ground where their central California ranges meet.

View species page Compare side by side

A kangaroo rat with a distinctly narrow face

This species gets its name from a noticeably slimmer, more elongated skull than other California kangaroo rats, a subtle but reliable way to tell it apart in the hand. Like its relatives, it moves in quick hops on oversized hind feet and carries seeds home in external cheek pouches rather than eating where it forages. It’s built for a life spent mostly underground and after dark, in a burrow it can seal off from predators and weather alike. Sand-bathing keeps its fur clean and water-repellent, the same grooming behavior seen across the kangaroo rat family.

Range through chaparral, woodland, and coastal mountains

Every confirmed record sits inside California, and unlike the valley-floor kangaroo rats of the Central Valley, this species climbs well into the coastal mountains. Elevation records run from near sea level past 4,900 feet, with half of all sightings above roughly 1,400 feet, in chaparral, oak woodland, and pockets of coastal desert scrub. Confirmed records are few, a reflection of both a naturally patchy distribution and the difficulty of surveying a small, nocturnal burrower across rugged terrain.

Diet, reproduction, and a stable conservation status

The narrow-faced kangaroo rat eats a broad mix of seeds, green plants, fruit, and occasional insects, more varied than the diet of some of its more seed-focused relatives. A female typically raises one or two litters of about two young a year. Owls, snakes, and foxes all hunt this kangaroo rat, and its burrow system, with multiple entrances and interior chambers, gives it a quick escape route whenever a predator gets close. Because so few records exist, much of what’s known about its day-to-day habits is inferred from closely related, better-studied kangaroo rat species rather than from direct observation of this one. Despite its restricted range and modest population, the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern, reflecting a distribution that, while limited to California, has so far remained stable across the habitat it depends on.

Sources

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
PhyloPicCC0 / CC-BY per itemthe to-scale silhouettesWill Coultley (Dipodomys) · Andrew A. Farke (human silhouette, CC-BY 3.0)
AnAge (HAGR)CC-BY 3.0longevity, maturity, and gestation figures
IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
Amniote Life-History DatabaseCC0 · public domainreproduction figures
EltonTraitsCC0 · public domaindiet and foraging-activity data