Kangaroo rat
Genus of mammals belonging to the kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, and pocket mice family of rodents / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the spectacled hare-wallaby or smaller Australian marsupial relatives of kangaroos and wallabies known as rat-kangaroos.
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 this mode of locomotion independently, like several other clades of rodents (e.g. dipodids and hopping mice).
Quick Facts Kangaroo rats Temporal range: Late Pliocene – Recent, Scientific classification ...
Kangaroo rats Temporal range: Late Pliocene – Recent | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Heteromyidae |
Subfamily: | Dipodomyinae |
Genus: | Dipodomys J. E. Gray, 1841[1] |
Type species | |
Dipodomys phillipsii J. E. Gray, 1841 | |
Species | |
Dipodomys agilis |
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