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AnAge entry for Dipodomys merriami

Classification (HAGRID: 03240)
TaxonomyKingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Rodentia
                Family: Heteromyidae
                    Genus: Dipodomys
SpeciesDipodomys merriami
Common nameMerriam's kangaroo rat

Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits

Maximum longevity9.7 years (captivity)
Sourceref. 671
Sample sizemedium
Data qualityacceptable
Observations

One wild born specimen was about 9.7 years old when it died in captivity [0671].

Life history traits (averages)

Female sexual maturity102 days
Male sexual maturity
Gestation28 days
Weaning20 days
Litter size2.3 (viviparous)
Litters per year1.6
Inter-litter interval54 days
Weight at birth2.92 g
Weight at weaning17.6 g
Adult weight42 g
Postnatal growth rate0.0368 days-1 (from Gompertz function)
Maximum longevity residual112 %

Metabolism

Typical body temperature310ºK or 37.0ºC or 98.6ºF
Basal metabolic rate0.2460 W
Body mass37.6 g
Metabolic rate per body mass0.006543 W/g

References
[0817] Bielby et al. (2007), The fast-slow continuum in mammalian life history: an empirical reevaluation, PubMed
[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0036] Savage et al. (2004), The predominance of quarter-power scaling in biology
[0420] White and Seymour (2003), Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass2/3, PubMed
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves

External resources

Integrated Taxonomic Information SystemITIS 180241
Animal Diversity WebADW account
Encyclopedia of LifeSearch EOL
Genome ProjectSearch NCBI
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