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Zapodidae, the jumping mice, is a
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of mouse-like
rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Although mouse-like in general appearance, these rodents are distinguished by their elongated hind limbs, and, typically, by the presence of four pairs of cheek-teeth in each jaw. There are five toes to all the feet, but the first in the fore-feet is rudimentary, and furnished with a flat nail. The tail makes up about 60% of its body length and is used to gain balance while jumping. The cheeks have pouches. The
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
jumping "yeti" mouse (''
Eozapus setchuanus The Chinese jumping mouse (''Eozapus setchuanus'') is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Eozapus''. It is endemic to China where its natural habitat is temperate forests, steppes and meadows in mounta ...
'') from China can be identified by the ‘Y’ marking on its belly. Jumping mice live in wooded areas, grassy fields and alpine meadows. When disturbed, they start, in enormous bounds of eight or ten feet in length, which soon diminish to three or four, and in leaping the feet scarcely seem to touch the ground. They are nocturnal and generally live alone. The nest is placed in clefts of rocks, among timber, or in hollow trees, and there are generally three litters in a season.


Taxonomy

Formerly classified in the subfamily Zapodinae alongside the birch mice and
jerboas Jerboas (from ar, جربوع ') are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia, and are members of the family Dipodidae. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on b ...
within the greater family
Dipodidae Jerboas (from ar, جربوع ') are hopping desert Rodent, rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia, and are members of the family Dipodidae. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are pre ...
, phylogenetic analysis has found the jumping mice, birch mice, and jerboas to each form their own family, with Dipodidae being restricted to the jerboas. All three families are thought to belong to the greater superfamily
Dipodoidea Dipodoidea is a superfamily of rodents, also known as dipodoids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. This superfamily includes over 50 species among the 16 genera in 3 families. They include the jerboas (family Dipodidae), jumping mice (fa ...
.


Classification

There are 11 recent species listed by the
American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...
as of 2021. Subfamily Zapodidae, jumping mice *Genus ''
Eozapus The Chinese jumping mouse (''Eozapus setchuanus'') is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Eozapus''. It is endemic to China where its natural habitat is temperate forests, steppes and meadows in mounta ...
'' **
Chinese jumping mouse The Chinese jumping mouse (''Eozapus setchuanus'') is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Eozapus''. It is endemic to China where its natural habitat is temperate forests, steppes and meadows in mounta ...
, ''Eozapus setchuanus'' *Genus ''
Napaeozapus The woodland jumping mouse (''Napaeozapus insignis'') is a species of jumping mouse found in North America. It can jump up to using its extremely strong feet and long tail. Taxonomy Representatives of the family Dipodidae are found in the nort ...
'' ** Western woodland jumping mouse, ''Napaeozapus abietorum'' ** Eastern woodland jumping mouse, ''Napaeozapus insignis'' *Genus '' Zapus'' ** Northern meadow jumping mouse, ''Zapus hudsonius'' ** Southern meadow jumping mouse, ''Zapus luteus'' ** Central Pacific jumping mouse, ''Zapus montanus'' **
Oregon jumping mouse Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, ''Zapus oregonus'' **
South Pacific jumping mouse South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
, ''Zapus pacificus'' ** Southwestern jumping mouse, ''Zapus princeps'' **
Northwestern jumping mouse Northwestern or North-western or North western may refer to: * Northwest, a direction * Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois ** The Northwestern Wildcats, this school's intercollegiate athletic program ** No ...
, ''Zapus saltator'' ** North Pacific jumping mouse, ''Zapus trinotatus''


Fossil genera

In addition, four fossil genera are also definitively known: * Genus †'' Javazapus'' * Genus †'' Pliozapus'' * Genus †'' Sinozapus'' *Genus †'' Sminthozapus''


See also

*
Hopping mouse A hopping mouse is any of about ten different Australian native mice in the genus ''Notomys''. They are rodents, not marsupials, and their ancestors are thought to have arrived from Asia about 5 million years ago. All are brown or fawn, fading ...
- a
murid In Sufism, a ''murīd'' (Arabic مُرِيد 'one who seeks') is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by ''sulūk'' (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title murshid, '' pir'' or ''shaykh''. A '' sālik'' or Su ...
rodent native to Australia *
Jerboa Jerboas (from ar, جربوع ') are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia, and are members of the family Dipodidae. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on b ...
- a related desert-dwelling
dipodid Jerboas (from ar, جربوع ') are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia, and are members of the family Dipodidae. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on b ...
rodent native to northern Africa and Asia *
Kangaroo mouse A kangaroo mouse is either one of the two species of jumping mouse (genus ''Microdipodops'') native to the deserts of the southwestern United States, predominantly found in the state of Nevada. The name "kangaroo mouse" refers to the species' ext ...
and
kangaroo rat Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed thi ...
- heteromyid rodents of North America *
Kultarr The kultarr (''Antechinomys laniger'') (also called the "jerboa-marsupial" or marsupial jerboa) is a small insectivorous nocturnal marsupial inhabiting the arid interior of Australia. Preferred habitat includes stony deserts, shrubland, woodland ...
- an unrelated
marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...
with a similar body plan and coloration; an example of
convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen * "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that united the four Wei ...
*
Springhare ''Pedetes'' is a genus of rodent, the springhares, in the family Pedetidae. Members of the genus are distributed across southern and Eastern Africa. Species A number of species both extant and extinct are classified in the genus ''Pedetes''. ...
- a
pedetid The Pedetidae are a family (biology), family of mammals from the rodent order. The two living species, the springhares, are distributed throughout much of southern Africa and also around Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Fossils have been found as far ...
rodent native to southern and eastern Africa


References

Zapodidae Rodent families Dipodoid rodents Taxa named by Elliott Coues {{rodent-stub Extant Miocene first appearances