Desert kangaroo rat diet
The rodent fossil record dates back to the Paleocene on the supercontinent of Laurasia. Clockwise from top left: capybara, springhare, golden-mantled ground squirrel, house mouse and beaver representing the suborders Hystricomorpha, Anomaluromorpha, Sciuromorpha, Myomorpha, and Castorimorpha, respectively. Many have litters of underdeveloped, altricial young, while others have precocial (relatively well developed) at birth. Rodents greatly diversified in the Eocene, as they spread across continents, sometimes even crossing oceans. Rocks are smoothed down, and the wind sorts sand into uniform deposits. Although rain seldom occurs in deserts, there are occasional downpours that can result in flash floods. Rain falling on hot rocks can cause them to shatter and the resulting fragments and rubble strewn over the desert floor is further eroded by the wind. For the act of abandoning or withdrawing support, see Desertion. There may be underground sources of water in the form of springs and seepages from aquifers. They tend to be social animals and many species live in societies with complex ways of communicating with each other. The grains end up as level sheets of sand or are piled high in billowing sand dunes. They share a most recent common ancestor with rabbits, hares, and pikas, mammals whose incisors also grow continually. Well-known rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, hamsters, and capybaras. Species can be arboreal, fossorial (burrowing), or semiaquatic. Other desert features include rock outcrops, exposed bedrock and clays once deposited by flowing water. These areas are known as desert pavements and little further erosion takes place. About one third of the land surface of the world is arid or semi-arid. Most eat seeds or other plant material, but some have more varied diets.
The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to the processes of denudation. Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their geographical location. A desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and consequently living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. They use their sharp incisors to gnaw food, excavate burrows, and defend themselves. Deserts are formed by weathering processes as large variations in temperature between day and night put strains on the rocks which consequently break in pieces. Combined range of all rodent species (not including introduced populations). Rodents reached both South America and Madagascar from Africa, and were the only terrestrial placental mammals to reach and colonize Australia. Some species, in particular the brown rat, the black rat, and the house mouse, are serious pests, eating and spoiling food stored by humans, and spreading diseases. Temporary lakes may form and salt pans may be left when waters evaporate. Rodents have been used as food, for clothing, as pets, and as laboratory animals in research. Mating among rodents can vary from monogamy, to polygyny, to promiscuity. Other deserts are flat, stony plains where all the fine material has been blown away and the surface consists of a mosaic of smooth stones. Most rodents are small animals with robust bodies, short limbs, and long tails. Wind-blown sand grains striking any solid object in their path can abrade the surface. Other animals such as rabbits, hares, and pikas were once included with them, but are now considered to be in a separate order, the Lagomorpha. This picks up particles of sand and dust and wafts them aloft in sand or dust storms. They are the most diversified mammalian order and live in a variety of terrestrial habitats, including human-made environments.
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