The Muroidea are a large superfamily of rodents, including mice, rats, voles, hamsters, lemmings, gerbils, and many other relatives. Although the Muroidea originated in Eurasia, they occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent except Antarctica. Some authorities have placed all members of this group into a single family, Muridae, due to difficulties in determining how the subfamilies are related to one another. Many of the families within the Muroidea superfamily have more variations between the families than between the different clades. A possible explanation for the variations in rodents is because of the location of these rodents; these changes could have been due to radiation or the overall environment they migrated to or originated in. The following taxonomy is based on recent well-supported molecular phylogenies.
Akodontini is the second most speciose rodent tribe of the subfamily Sigmodontinae. It includes at least 106 living species in 19 genera and is distributed mainly in the southern half of South America, with only two genera extending into Guyana (Podoxymys) and Venezuela (Necromys). It also includes genera previously placed in tribe Scapteromyini. The following genera are now generally recognized:
Oxymycterus is a genus of rat-like rodents commonly known as hocicudos. They are endemic to South America. As of April 2019, the genus contains the following 16 species:
The cursor grass mouse, or cursorial akodont, is a sigmodontine rodent from South America.
The gray leaf-eared mouse is a rodent species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay; its habitat includes the Gran Chaco.
Lundomys molitor, also known as Lund's amphibious rat or the greater marsh rat, is a semiaquatic rat species from southeastern South America.
Pseudoryzomys simplex, also known as the Brazilian false rice rat or false oryzomys, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae from south-central South America. It is found in lowland palm savanna and thorn scrub habitats. It is a medium-sized species, weighing about 50 grams (1.8 oz), with gray–brown fur, long and narrow hindfeet, and a tail that is about as long as the head and body. The IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of least concern, although almost nothing is known about its diet or reproduction.
The Bogotá grass mouse or Bogotá akodont, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in the Andes eastern and central Colombia and northwestern Venezuela. Alavarado-Serrano and D'Elía (2013) have assigned the species to a new genus, Neomicroxus along with Neomicroxus latebricola.
Akodon boliviensis, also known as the Bolivian grass mouse or Bolivian akodont, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in the Andes from southeastern Peru through Bolivia into northwestern Argentina.
Akodon spegazzinii, also known as Spegazzini's akodont or Spegazzini's grass mouse, is a rodent in the genus Akodon found in northwestern Argentina. It occurs in grassland and forest at 400 to 3,500 m above sea level. After the species was first named in 1897, several other names were given to various populations now included in A. spegazzinii. They are now all recognized as part of a single, widespread and variable species. Akodon spegazzinii is related to Akodon boliviensis and other members of the A. boliviensis species group. It reproduces year-round. Because it is widely distributed and common, Akodon spegazzinii is listed as "least concern" on the IUCN Red List.
Akodon sylvanus, also known as the forest grass mouse or woodland akodont, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in a small part of northwestern Argentina.
Abrothrix is a genus of rodent in the tribe Abrotrichini of family Cricetidae. It contains the following living species:
Irenomys tarsalis, also known as the Chilean climbing mouse, Chilean tree mouse, or long-footed irenomys, is a rodent found in Chile, from about 36° to 46°S, and in adjacent Argentina, mainly in forests. It is a large, long-tailed, soft-furred mouse characterized by grooved upper incisors and specialized molars with transverse ridges, divided by deep valleys, which are connected by a transverse ridge along the midline of the molars.
Akodon caenosus is a rodent in the genus Akodon found in northwestern Argentina and south-central Bolivia. Since its description in 1918, it has been alternatively classified as a separate species or a subspecies of Akodon lutescens. The species Akodon aliquantulus, described from some very small Argentine specimens in 1999, is now recognized as a synonym of A. caenosus.
Oryzomyini is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae of the family Cricetidae. It includes about 120 species in about thirty genera, distributed from the eastern United States to the southernmost parts of South America, including many offshore islands. It is part of the clade Oryzomyalia, which includes most of the South American Sigmodontinae.
The delicate salt flat mouse is a sigmodontine rodent species in the family Cricetidae from South America. It is the only species in the genus Salinomys. Its habitat is scrublands bordering salt flats in the Monte Desert area of central western Argentina at elevations around 400 m. The closest relatives of the species are the chaco mice (Andalgalomys).
In anatomy, posterolateral palatal pits are gaps at the sides of the back of the bony palate, near the last molars. Posterolateral palatal pits are present, in various degrees of development, in several members of the rodent family Cricetidae. Many members of the family lack them or have only simple pits, but Arvicolinae and Oryzomyini have more highly developed posterolateral palatal pits. Posterolateral palatal pits are also present in some other rodents, including Glis, Jaculus, Hystrix, Abrocoma, Ctenomys, Chinchilla, and Lagidium.
Abrotrichini, also known as the Andean clade or southern Andean clade, is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae. It includes about fifteen species in four genera, distributed in South America from southern Peru to southernmost South America, including the Patagonian steppes. The earliest known fossils are from the Pliocene of Argentina.
In mammals, ungual tufts are tufts of hairs at the base of claws of the forefeet and hindfeet. Their presence has been used as a character in cladistic studies of the Cricetidae, a large family of rodents.
Akodon polopi is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Argentina.
