Villalence 1991 Dipodomys heermanni patches. Upon release of 1 K-rat, I noticed that it hopped from dare patch to dare patch, righ over herl cover until it hopped head first into its drewws. 3 1/2 miles West and 1/2 mile North Tembler Peak, Elkhorn Plains, San Luis Obispo Co. Calif 2500 ft. 1) soil and topography are very different from those found in the ranges of D.h. arenus + D.h. moro- censis. Here the parent material is granitic intrusion. Soil is poorly developed in many areas. Salt content + Clay content are high. Also, the K-rats occur primarily along the edges+ botton of steep ravines. These ravined are shared with D. nitrovides. D. nit shares the alluvial fans with D. viger.