A
kangaroo mouse is either one of the two
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of jumping mouse (
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
Microdipodops) native to the deserts of the
Southwestern United StatesThe Southwestern United States is defined as the states that lie west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit such as the 37, 38, 39, or 40 degree north latitude. A 97.33 longitude degree west could qualify as the separation of the American Southwest from the...
, predominantly found in the state of
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
. The name "
kangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroo...
mouse" refers to the species' extraordinary jumping ability, as well as its habit of
bipedBipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs, or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning "two feet"...
al locomotion. The two species are:
- Pale Kangaroo Mouse
The Pale Kangaroo Mouse is a species of rodent in the Heteromyidae family. It is endemic to the United States....
- Microdipodops pallidus
- Dark Kangaroo Mouse
The Dark Kangaroo Mouse is a species of rodent in the Heteromyidae family. It is endemic to the United States....
- Microdipodops megacephalus
Both species of kangaroo mouse live in sandy
desertA desert is a landscape or region that receives almost no precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation. In the Köppen climate classification system,...
ecosystemAn ecosystem is a system of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat, in an area functioning together with all of the physical factors of the environment. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs...
s, and
forageForaging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavior of animals in response to the environment in which the animal lives. Foraging theory considers the foraging behavior of animals in reference to the payoff that an animal obtains from different foraging options...
for seeds and vegetation amongst the scrub brush of their native habitat.
A
kangaroo mouse is either one of the two
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of jumping mouse (
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
Microdipodops) native to the deserts of the
Southwestern United StatesThe Southwestern United States is defined as the states that lie west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit such as the 37, 38, 39, or 40 degree north latitude. A 97.33 longitude degree west could qualify as the separation of the American Southwest from the...
, predominantly found in the state of
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
. The name "
kangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroo...
mouse" refers to the species' extraordinary jumping ability, as well as its habit of
bipedBipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs, or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning "two feet"...
al locomotion. The two species are:
- Pale Kangaroo Mouse
The Pale Kangaroo Mouse is a species of rodent in the Heteromyidae family. It is endemic to the United States....
- Microdipodops pallidus
- Dark Kangaroo Mouse
The Dark Kangaroo Mouse is a species of rodent in the Heteromyidae family. It is endemic to the United States....
- Microdipodops megacephalus
Both species of kangaroo mouse live in sandy
desertA desert is a landscape or region that receives almost no precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation. In the Köppen climate classification system,...
ecosystemAn ecosystem is a system of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat, in an area functioning together with all of the physical factors of the environment. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs...
s, and
forageForaging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavior of animals in response to the environment in which the animal lives. Foraging theory considers the foraging behavior of animals in reference to the payoff that an animal obtains from different foraging options...
for seeds and vegetation amongst the scrub brush of their native habitat. The Dark Kangaroo Mouse is also known to feed occasionally on
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s and
carrionCarrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters, or scavengers, include Hyenas, Vultures, Canadian Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, Black Bears, Komodo Dragons, Bald Eagles, Raccoons,...
. Interestingly, the mouse never drinks
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
, instead deriving it
metabolicallyCellular respiration is one of the key ways a cell gains useful energy. It is the set of the metabolic reactions and processes that take place in organisms' cells to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate , and then release waste products...
from the foods it eats. The kangaroo mouse collects food and maintains large caches in their
burrowA burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite popular among the...
s, which are excavated to a length of between 3 and 8 feet (1 to 2.5 meters). The burrow, the entrance to which the mouse covers during daylight hours, is also used to raise litters of between 2 and 7 young. The Pale Kangaroo Mouse burrows only in fine sand, while the Dark Kangaroo Mouse prefers fine,
gravelGravel is rock that is of a specific particle size range. Specifically, it is any loose rock that is larger than two millimeters in its smallest dimension and no more than . The next smaller size class in geology is sand, which is > in size. The next larger size is cobble, which is >. Gravel can...
ly
soilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and...
s but may also burrow in sand or sandy soil. Kangaroo mice are nocturnal, and are most active in the two hours following
sunsetSunset is the daily disappearance of the sun below the horizon as a result of the Earth's rotation. The atmospheric conditions created by the setting of the sun, occurring before and after it disappears below the horizon, are also commonly referred to as "sunset".In astronomy the time of sunset is...
. They are believed to
hibernateHibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve energy, especially during winter when food is short, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...
during cold weather.
The kangaroo mice are closely related to the
kangaroo ratKangaroo rats, genus Dipodomys, are small rodents native to North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form: as they hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, although they are not related.-Speciation:...
s, which belong to the same subfamily,
DipodomyinaeThe subfamily Dipodomyinae contains two genera:*Dipodomys - kangaroo rats*Microdipodops - kangaroo miceMembers of the Dipodomyinae, as implied by both their common and scientific names, are bipedal; they also jump exceptionally well...
.
Kangaroo mice in pop culture
- In Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
's classic science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
series DuneThe Dune universe, or Duniverse, is the political, scientific, and social fictional setting of author Frank Herbert's series of six science fiction novels which began with 1965's Dune...
, the protagonist Paul AtreidesPaul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert; he later takes the Fremen name Paul Muad'Dib and the sietch name Usul. Paul is a prominent character in the first two novels in the series, Dune and Dune Messiah , and returns in Children of Dune...
acquires the name Muad'DibMuad'Dib is a term with multiple applications within Frank Herbert's Dune universe.In Terminology of the Imperium, the glossary of the novel Dune, Herbert provides the following definition:...
, which in the FremenThe Fremen are a group of people in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel Dune, the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis and are based on the desert-dwelling Bedouin and Kalahari Bushmen. In Herbert's novels, Arrakis is the sole known source of...
language of ChakobsaChakobsa is a fictional language used by the Fremen people of the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. In the series of novels which begins with Dune, the language is said to be based on another fictitious language, the Bhotani Jib. Herbert presumably took the name from Chakobsa, the "hunting...
means kangaroo mouse. On the planet ArrakisArrakis , informally known as Dune and later called Rakis, is a fictional desert planet featured in the Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert...
, kangaroo mice are known as "instructors-of-boys," due to their great survival abilities.