Kangaroo mouse

A kangaroo mouse or muad'dib in Chakobsa, is a small rodent from the planet Arrakis. It was associated in the Fremen earth-spirit mythology and its figure was visible on the planet's second moon, as well as on a constellation.

Paul Atreides took the name of Muad'Dib when he was welcomed into the Fremen tribes.

This creature is admired by Fremen for its ability to survive in the open desert. Young Fremen are required to learn from their ways of survival. Thus while Paul's new Fremen name literally meant "the mouse" (which Baron Harkonnen found amusing), on a more figurative level it meant "The Teacher".

Behind the scenes
In Arabic, مؤدّب mu’addib means 'educator'.

The kangaroo mouse (Microdipodops) are two species of North American hopping mouse with larger hind limbs, from the deserts of the southwestern US. A related species is the kangaroo rat (not a rat, despite its name).

Similarly evolved hopping desert rodents from other continents include the jerboas of Africa and Asia and the hopping mice of Australia.