Dipodoidea Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Jaculus orientalis | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Suborder: | Myomorpha |
Superfamily: | Dipodoidea Fischer de Waldheim, 1817 |
Families | |
Dipodoidea is a superfamily of rodents, also known as dipodoids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. This superfamily includes over 50 species among the 16 genera in 3 families.[2][3] They include the jerboas (family Dipodidae), jumping mice (family Zapodidae), and birch mice (family Sminthidae).[3] Different species are found in grassland, deserts, and forests. They are all capable of saltation (jumping while in a bipedal stance), a feature that is most highly evolved in the desert-dwelling jerboas.