Woodland Jumping Mouse

About the Woodland Jumping Mouse

The woodland jumping mouse (Napaeozapus insignis) is a species of jumping mouse found in North America. It can jump up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) using its extremely strong feet and long tail. Representatives of the family Dipodidae are found in the northern regions of the Old and New Worlds, and are characterized by very large infraorbital foramen, and, in one of the two North American genera, Zapus, by four upper cheek teeth. Incisors are compressed and deeply grooved. These animals are common and noted for very long tails and long hind legs adapted for leaping. They live in forests, meadows, and swamps and are profound hibernators.

The woodland jumping mouse was originally classified as Zapus insignis in 1891, but differences detected in dental morphology, ear ossicles, and the baculum resulted in the creation of two new genera, Napaeozapus and Eozapus. N. insignis was in the family Dipodidae, in the subfamily Zapodinae, although now Zapodinae is considered its own distinct family, Zapodidae.

Five subspecies of woodland jumping mice were identified by Whitaker in 1972: N. i. insignis in New Brunswick N. i. abietorum in Ontario N. i. saquenayensis in Quebec... Wikipedia →