Zapodidae

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Zapodidae
Temporal range: Early Miocene–recent
Zapus hudsonius preblei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Superfamily: Dipodoidea
Family: Zapodidae
Coues, 1875
Genera

Eozapus

Napaeozapus

Zapus

Synonyms

Zapodinae

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

Although

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 can leap eight to ten feet at a time, diminishing to three to four as they widen the gap between them and any pursuer. They are nocturnal and generally live alone. Nests are often found in clefts of rocks, among timber, or in hollow trees. Typically, they will have two to three litters per year.

Taxonomy

Formerly classified in the subfamily Zapodinae alongside the

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.[1]

Classification

There are 11 recent species listed by the American Society of Mammalogists as of 2021.[2]

Family Zapodidae, jumping mice

Fossil genera

In addition, four fossil genera are also definitively known:[3][4][5]

See also

  • Hopping mouse: a murid rodent native to Australia
  • dipodid
    rodent native to northern Africa and Asia
  • heteromyid
    rodents of North America
  • Kultarr: an unrelated marsupial with a similar body plan and coloration; an example of convergence
  • pedetid
    rodent native to southern and eastern Africa

References

  1. S2CID 86686066
    .
  2. ^ Database, Mammal Diversity (2021-08-10), Mammal Diversity Database, retrieved 2021-09-27
  3. ^ "Mammal Species of the World - Browse: Zapodinae". www.departments.bucknell.edu. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  4. ^ "Fossilworks: Zapodidae". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  5. ^ "Mindat.org". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
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