jumping mouse en · NOUN
Meanings
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Any species of the taxonomic family Zapodidae of rodents, variously endemic to North America and China.
In some respects a jumping mouse resembles kangaroo rats and kangaroo mice in habits and appearance. A jumping mouse may readily be distinguished from these animals, however, by its lack of fur-lined cheek pouches and by its preference for, or nearness to, moist habitats instead of arid places.
1954, Lloyd Glenn Ingles, Mammals of California and Its Coastal Waters, page 256:The jumping mouse is little larger than a house mouse and has a very long, scaly, untufted tail, one-third longer than the head and body.[…]In fact, various observers have found that jumping mice with injured or amputated tails tumble over and are as helpless as a ship without a rudder.
1953, Lowell Sumner, Joseph Scattergood Dixon, Birds and Mammals of the Sierra Nevada, page 423:That was when we realized that we have two species of jumping mice on the mountain.
1999, Marcia Bonta, Appalachian Summer, page 138:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| jumping mice | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
western jumping mouse · meadow jumping mouse · Pacific jumping mouse · Chinese jumping mouse · woodland jumping mouse
Synonyms
Translations (2)
it topo saltatore (species of the family Zapodidae) · fi loikkahiiri (species of the family Zapodidae)