Superfamily - Dipodoidea (Jerboas, Jumping and Birch Mice)

52 species

Dipodoidea is a superfamily of small to medium-sized rodents, also known as dipodoids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. This superfamily includes over 50 species that include the jerboas, jumping mice, and birch mice. Different species are found in grassland, deserts, and forests. They are all adapted for jumping, although to varying degrees; this feature is most highly evolved in the desert-dwelling jerboas which move either by jumping or by walking on their hind legs. The jumping mice have long feet but lack the extreme adaptations of the jerboas so that they move by crawling or making short hops, rather than long leaps. Both jerboas and jumping mice have long tails to aid their balance. Birch mice have shorter tails and feet, but they, too, move by jumping. Most dipodoids are omnivorous and feed on seeds and insects. Some species of jerboa, however, are almost entirely insectivorous. Jerboas and birch mice make their nests in burrows, while jumping mice do not dig their own, and generally nest in thick vegetation or may co-opt the burrows of other species. Most species hibernate, surviving on fat that they build up in the weeks prior to going to sleep. Dipodoids give birth to litters of between two and seven young and breed once or twice a year, depending on the species.
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Dipodoidea is a superfamily of small to medium-sized rodents, also known as dipodoids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. This superfamily includes over 50 species that include the jerboas, jumping mice, and birch mice. Different species are found in grassland, deserts, and forests. They are all adapted for jumping, although to varying degrees; this feature is most highly evolved in the desert-dwelling jerboas which move either by jumping or by walking on their hind legs. The jumping mice have long feet but lack the extreme adaptations of the jerboas so that they move by crawling or making short hops, rather than long leaps. Both jerboas and jumping mice have long tails to aid their balance. Birch mice have shorter tails and feet, but they, too, move by jumping. Most dipodoids are omnivorous and feed on seeds and insects. Some species of jerboa, however, are almost entirely insectivorous. Jerboas and birch mice make their nests in burrows, while jumping mice do not dig their own, and generally nest in thick vegetation or may co-opt the burrows of other species. Most species hibernate, surviving on fat that they build up in the weeks prior to going to sleep. Dipodoids give birth to litters of between two and seven young and breed once or twice a year, depending on the species.
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