JUMPING MOUSE

any of five species of small, leaping rodents of the genera Zapus, Eozapus, and Napaeozapus, family Zapodidae. Jumping mice are grayish, golden, or yellowish brown and are about 8 to 10 centimetres (3 to 4 inches) long without the tail. They are typically mouselike, but have long hind legs and exceptionally long tails. When leaping about on their hind legs, they balance with their tails. Jumping mice live in grassy nests on the ground or in shallow burrows. They eat fruit, seeds, and insects and hibernate underground during winter. The meadow, Pacific, and western jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius, Z. trinotatus, and Z. princeps) are found over much of North America, mainly in open woods and meadows. The little-known Chinese jumping mouse (Eozapus szechwanus, sometimes considered a member of the genus Zapus) inhabits mountain forests. The woodland jumping mouse (Napaeozapus insignis) is an inhabitant of eastern North American woodlands.