Taxonomy
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 4 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 Euzapus. At present (2010), N. insignis is in the family Dipodidae but some systematists place woodland jumping mice in their own family, Zapodidae. Dipodidae is divided into seven subfamilies with jumping mice in the subfamily, Zapodinae.
Read more about this topic: Woodland Jumping Mouse