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| | Rodentia |
 | | Rodents range in size from that of mice and rats, the smallest being the Eurasian harvest mouse which weighs as little as 0.14 ounce, and the largest is the South American capybara weighing over 100 pounds. |
 | | For example, North American kangaroo rats, Australian hopping mice, and north African jerboas, all in different families, do well in sandy desert regions and have evolved exceedingly long, narrow hind legs and feet with a correspondingly long tail used for hopping over the sandy expanses like miniature kangaroos. |
 | | The rats carried the fleas that caused the plagues of Europe, and rats and mice spread other diseases as well. |
| www.americazoo.com /goto/index/mammals/rodentia.htm (704 words) |
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