Heteromyidae

The family Heteromyidae consists of New World rodents known for their fur-lined external cheek pouches, large eyes, and well-developed ears. These animals, including kangaroo rats and kangaroo mice, possess elongated hind limbs and tails adapted for leaping and balancing, allowing them to thrive in arid desert conditions. They are capable of surviving on dry food and obtaining necessary moisture from their diet, often relying on metabolic water.

Kangaroo rats are bipedal rodents with tufted tails, found in western North America. Kangaroo mice, also leaping rodents, are native to deserts in the western United States and are distinguished by their tails, which are neither crested nor tufted. Both are classified within Heteromyidae, separate from true mice (family Muridae), and are related to pocket mice and pocket gophers. Their evolutionary history dates back to the Late Miocene Epoch.123