California mammals

Stephens's Kangaroo Rat in California

Dipodomys stephensi

Native to California S3 Vulnerable in California

Not listed as nonindigenous in California by USGS NAS; native to its California range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

VU – Vulnerable

High risk of extinction in the wild.

Stephens' kangaroo rat free on open ground at night, long tufted tail visibleAI-generated image: Stephens' kangaroo rat hopping across open dusty ground at night. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAI-generated image: Stephens' kangaroo rat sitting beside its burrow at night. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domainStephens' kangaroo rat free on open ground at night, long tufted tail visibleAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyStephens' kangaroo rat hopping across open dusty ground at nightAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyStephens' kangaroo rat sitting beside its burrow at night

Stephens's Kangaroo Rat in California, by the numbers

Rare in California 204th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

489 occurrence records
13 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

489 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 486 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Stephens's Kangaroo Rat in California

Most sightings fall in July to August.

486 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January16
February11
March72
April15
May8
June52
July74
August96
September57
October53
November21
December11

Monthly stephens's kangaroo rat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August, with a smaller rise in March.

Occurrence map

Where Stephens's Kangaroo Rat has been recorded in California

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve 5
Santa Rosa And San Jacinto National Monument 1
Groves Property TransNet Mitigation 1

Protected places with the most stephens's kangaroo rat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in California

CountyRecords
Riverside County 354
San Diego County 129
San Bernardino County 4
Other localities 2

The complete county distribution, spread across 3 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

California’s combined state files contain 498 Stephens’s Kangaroo Rat records: 13 from iNaturalist and 485 from GBIF. It ranks 204th among 243 mammals in this California record comparison, placing it in the lower third. That’s a ranking of submitted records, not a head count of animals.

The monthly series reaches its high point in August, with 5 records in the busiest month. Records appear in 10 of 12 months, so the pattern shows when sightings were documented, not when the species must be present or absent.

California accounts for about 100% of the mapped GBIF records summarized on the national Stephens’s Kangaroo Rat page. That’s a large share of the known record footprint, though differences in survey effort can strongly shape the percentage.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Stephens' kangaroo rat free on open ground at night, long tufted tail visible
Full species profile Stephens's Kangaroo Rat Dipodomys stephensi Size 27.7–30 cm10.9–11.8 in Weight 67 g2.4 oz Lifespan Up to 2.1 yr View the full profile

More mammals in California in the atlas

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
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"