Categories
Animal Age

How old does a Heermann’s kangaroo rat get? (age expectancy)

What is the maximal age a Heermann’s kangaroo rat reaches?

An adult Heermann’s kangaroo rat (Dipodomys heermanni) usually gets as old as 2.33 years.

Heermann’s kangaroo rats are around 30 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 3 grams (0.01 lbs) and measure 27.5 cm (0′ 11″). As a member of the Heteromyidae family (genus: Dipodomys), a Heermann’s kangaroo rat caries out around 3 little ones per pregnancy, which happens around 2 times a year. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 11.1 cm (0′ 5″).

As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.

A Heermann's kangaroo rat gets as old as 2.33 years

Heermann’s kangaroo rat (Dipodomys heermanni) is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. Their long smooth pelage resembles typical kangaroo rats, with their dorsal side showing a mixed range of olive, black and orange colors. There are 9 distinguished sub-species of Dipodomys heermanni: D.h. arenae, D.h. berkeleyensis, D.h. dixoni, D.h. goldmani, D.h. heermanni, D.h. jolonensis, D.h.morroensis, D.h. swarthi, and D.h. tularensis. The dental formula of Dipodomys heermanni is 1.0.1.31.0.1.3 × 2 = 20.It is considered “broad-faced”, unlike many other species of kangaroo rats, which are considered to be “narrow-faced”. It has five toes on each hind foot, and this small characteristic is important in distinguishing it from similar species such as Dipodomys californicus and Dipodomys nitratoides. Additionally it is smaller than Dipodomys ingens, Dipodomys venustus, and Dipodomys elephantinus.Heermann’s kangaroo rat averages a total length of 250–313 mm (9.8–12.3 in), with their tail measuring 160–200 mm (6.3–7.9 in), their hind foot measuring 38–46 mm (1.5–1.8 in), and their ear measuring 10–17 mm (0.39–0.67 in). Additionally when looking at all standard external measurements it has been found they demonstrate significant sexual dimorphism.

Animals of the same family as a Heermann’s kangaroo rat

Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Heteromyidae):

Animals that reach the same age as Heermann’s kangaroo rat

With an average age of 2.33 years, Heermann’s kangaroo rat are in good companionship of the following animals:

Animals with the same number of babies Heermann’s kangaroo rat

The same number of babies at once (3) are born by:

Weighting as much as Heermann’s kangaroo rat

A fully grown Heermann’s kangaroo rat reaches around 63 grams (0.14 lbs). So do these animals:

Animals as big as a Heermann’s kangaroo rat

Those animals grow as big as a Heermann’s kangaroo rat: