Jumping mice

Zapodidae, the jumping mice, is a family of mouse-like rodents in North America and China.

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 jumping "yeti" mouse (''Eozapus setchuanus'') 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 within the greater family Dipodidae, 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.

Classification

There are 11 recent species listed by the American Society of Mammalogists as of 2021.

Subfamily Zapodidae, jumping mice
*Genus ''Eozapus''
**Chinese jumping mouse, ''Eozapus setchuanus''
*Genus ''Napaeozapus''
** 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, ''Zapus oregonus''
**South Pacific jumping mouse, ''Zapus pacificus''
** Southwestern jumping mouse, ''Zapus princeps''
**Northwestern jumping mouse, ''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 murid rodent native to Australia
* Jerboa - a related desert-dwelling dipodid rodent native to northern Africa and Asia
* Kangaroo mouse and kangaroo rat - heteromyid rodents of North America
* Kultarr - an unrelated marsupial with a similar body plan and coloration; an example of convergence
* Springhare - a pedetid rodent native to southern and eastern Africa

References

Zapodidae
Rodent families
Dipodoid rodents
Taxa named by Elliott Coues

{{rodent-stub
Extant Miocene first appearances