| Heteromyids Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Fresno kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Superfamily: | Geomyoidea |
| Family: | Heteromyidae Gray, 1868 |
| Type genus | |
| Heteromys Desmarest, 1817
| |
| Subfamilies | |
Heteromyidae is a family of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice and spiny pocket mice. Most heteromyids live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, though species within the genus Heteromys are also found in forests and their range extends as far south as northern South America. They feed mostly on seeds and other plant parts, which they carry in their fur-lined cheek pouches[1] to their burrows.[2]
Although they are very different in physical appearance, the closest relatives of the heteromyids are pocket gophers in the family Geomyidae.
- ^ Morton, S. R.; Hinds, D. S.; MacMillen, R. E. (1980). "Cheek pouch capacity in heteromyid rodents". Oecologia. 46 (2): 143–146. Bibcode:1980Oecol..46..143M. doi:10.1007/BF00540118. PMID 28309665. S2CID 20685098.
- ^ Fleming, Theodore (1984). Macdonald, D. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 632–633. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.