Like other members of the genus, its tail, which is tipped with a large tuft of fur, is longer than the head and body combined.

[7] This kangaroo rat is found in and around the San Joaquin Valley in California, in the United States.

[8] It feeds largely on seeds, which it stuffs into its cheek pouches for transporting back to the burrow to eat or to cache.

[7] The Fresno kangaroo rat is limited to a range of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi), a much smaller area than it used at one time to occupy.

Some populations of D. n. nitratoides have fewer than 50 individuals and occupy such restricted habitats as the central strip of highways.