What adaptations does the kangaroo rat have?

Answer 1

Red Kangaroos are uniquely adapted to life in Australia. They do not live in the sandy desert, but they tend to inhabit drier, semi-arid areas. Because of this, they have a number of key adaptations to improve their chances of survival.

• The mother kangaroo spends most of her adult life pregnant, but in drought times, she has the ability to indefinitely "freeze" the development of the young embryo until food sources are replenished.
• The mother can also produce two different types of milk to suit the needs of two different aged joeys. She might have a more mature joey that spends less time in the pouch, while a very young embryo has attached itself to a teat. Each joey has different milk requirements - which the mother is able to supply.
• Kangaroos are able to travel long distances at a high speed, expending very little energy. They are very energy-efficient, and this is linked directly to the physical action of bringing their hind legs up with each hop. Every hop literally refills the lungs.
• Kangaroos have large, strong tendons in their hind legs which act as "springs". The springing motion requires less energy than running does, so kangaroos are able to bound for longer distances than other mammals with the standard four legs can run. They have strong back legs and elongated hind feet for bounding.
• Kangaroos are strong swimmers. Many parts of Australia are subject to seasonal flooding rains, but the kangaroo's body shape does not prohibit it from swimming. In fact, kangaroos have been observed swimming to offshore islands off the southern coast. This is the only time the kangaroo's hind legs move independently of each other.
• Kangaroos are more active in the cooler hours of the early morning and the late afternoon. During the heat of the day they are more sedentary, lying around quietly and chewing their cud.
• The teeth of the kangaroo are continuously being worn down by the tough grasses they eat. Instead of continuously growing, once a kangaroo's front teeth are worn down completely, they fall out, and the back teeth move forwards to take the place of the worn front teeth. Kangaroos have four such pairs of chewing teeth.
• Kangaroos have the ability to hear very well: kangaroos can twitch their ears independently around to determine the direction of specific sounds, much as a cat does
• They have long, strong tails for balancing.

Answer 2

Kangaroo rats of the USA are not to be confused with rat-kangaroos of Australia. They are placental mammals, unlike rat-kangaroos, which are marsupials, and their adaptations are very different.

In order to survive the heat and dryness of their environment, kangaroo rats burrow into the dirt, in order to take away the top layer, which is heated by the Sun, to get to the cool dirt underneath. They also obtain most of their moisture needs from the food they eat, and do not need to take in extra water.

Kangaroo rats have well developed hind legs. The animal uses its legs to escape from predators, and it is able to leap very high, despite its small size.

The kangaroo rat's fur color matches the sand and rocks where it lives in the deserts of the southwestern US.

Answer 3

it adapts to deserts and dry places.