[3] Saltbush leaves are a major dietary component, requiring specialized physiology to eliminate the salt while retaining water.

[5] Their hind feet are approximately 40% the length of their body and ranges between 40 - 45mm and the front limbs being much shorter.

It is endemic to the United States (found in Nevada, Utah, California, Oregon, and parts of Arizona and Idaho).

[9] This desert shrub, Atriplex confertifolia, is adapted to desert life by encrusting its leaf surfaces with a layer of salt crystals, this has a dual purpose, one of which is to reflect incoming solar radiation which help maintain its water homeostasis, and secondly it is a defense against herbivory.

They have evolved their lower incisors to become flat, broad, and chisel-shaped, which is a unique to character among the kangaroo rats.