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Kangaroo rats are small rodents from North and Central America. They got their name because they look like small kangaroos when standing upright. But they are not related to kangaroos, except that they are mammals. The genus of the kangaroo rats is called Dipodomys.

Currently, there are 22 species in that genus. They vary in size from 10cm to 20cm, and they weigh between 35 and 180 grams for adult animals.

Kangaroo rats live in dry climates. They can live in deserts also, like the Thar Desert. This means that they have developed traits from other species that live in such climates, but are not related to them. Some of those species are the jerboas, which can be found in the deserts of Africa and Asia, and the hopping mice of the Australian Outback.