Deomyinae

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Deomyinae
Temporal range: Early Pliocene - recent
Sinaistachelmaus.jpg
Eastern spiny mouse (Acomys dimidiatus)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Subfamily: Deomyinae
Thomas, 1888
Genera

Acomys
Deomys
Lophuromys
Uranomys

The subfamily Deomyinae consists of four genera of mouse-like rodents that were previously placed in the subfamilies Murinae and Dendromurinae. [1] [2] They are sometimes called the Acomyinae, particularly in references that antedate the discovery that the link rat, Deomys ferugineus , is part of the clade. Deomyinae is the older name and therefore has priority over Acomyinae. [2]

Deomyines share no morphological characteristics that can be used to separate them from other muroids, though subtle aspects of the third upper molar have been suggested. [1] This subfamily is united solely on the basis of shared genetic mutations. These conclusions have demonstrated good statistical support using nuclear [2] [3] and mitochondrial DNA, and DNA-DNA hybridization. [1]

Because of the lack of physical characteristics supporting this group, it is very possible that the subfamily as it is currently recognized is subject to enlargement. Many of the genera currently placed in the Murinae or Dendromurinae have not yet been included in a molecular phylogenetic analysis.

All genera are found in Africa, suggesting the deomyines may have originated there. The spiny mice, Acomys spp., are also found in Asia.

Individuals from every genus in the subfamily have been found to possess tail osteoderms, which are rarely seen in mammals. [4]

Classification

The four genera and 54 species included in the Deomyinae are:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muroidea</span> Superfamily of rodents

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muridae</span> Family of rodents

The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cricetidae</span> Family of rodents

The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice. At over 870 species, it is either the largest or second-largest family of mammals, and has members throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nesomyidae</span> Family of rodents

The Nesomyidae are a family of African rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes several subfamilies, all of which are native to either continental Africa or to Madagascar. Included in this family are Malagasy rodents, climbing mice, African rock mice, swamp mice, pouched rats, and the white-tailed rat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eumuroida</span> Clade of rodents

The Eumuroida are a clade defined in 2004 by Steppan et al. to describe a group of muroid rodents. The clade is not defined in the standard taxonomic hierarchy, but it is between superfamily and family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pouched rat</span> Subfamily of rodents

Pouched rats are a group of African rodents in the subfamily Cricetomyinae. They are members of the family Nesomyidae, which contains other African muroids such as climbing mice, Malagasy mice, and the white-tailed rat. All nesomyids are in the superfamily Muroidea, a large and complex clade containing 14 of all mammal species. Sometimes the pouched rats are placed in the family Muridae along with all other members of the superfamily Muroidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dendromurinae</span> Subfamily of rodents

Dendromurinae is a subfamily of rodents in the family Nesomyidae and superfamily Muroidea. The dendromurines are currently restricted to Africa, as is the case for all extant members of the family Nesomyidae. The authorship of the subfamily has been attributed to both Alston, 1876, and (incorrectly) to G. M. Allen, 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nesomyinae</span> Subfamily of rodents

The Malagasy rodents are the sole members of the subfamily Nesomyinae. These animals are the only native rodents of Madagascar, come in many shapes and sizes, and occupy a wide variety of ecological niches. There are nesomyines that resemble gerbils, rats, mice, voles, and even rabbits. There are arboreal, terrestrial, and semi-fossorial varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murinae</span> Subfamily of rodents

The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families except the Cricetidae and Muridae, and is larger than all mammal orders except the bats and the remainder of the rodents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spiny mouse</span> Genus of rodents

The term spiny mouse refers to any species of rodent within the genus Acomys. Similar in appearance to mice of the genus Mus, spiny mice are small mammals with bare tails which contain osteoderms, a rare feature in mammals. Their coats are endowed with unusually stiff guard hairs similar to the spines of a hedgehog; this trait is the source of the common name, spiny mouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brush-furred mouse</span> Genus of rodents

The brush-furred mice, genus Lophuromys are a group of rodents found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are members of the subfamily Deomyinae, a group only identifiable through molecular analysis. Lophuromys is also known as the brush-furred rats, harsh-furred rats or coarse-haired mice.

The link rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is also known by the common name Congo forest mouse. It is native to central Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Togo mouse</span> Species of rodent

The Togo mouse, also known as Büttner's African forest mouse or the groove-toothed forest mouse, is a unique muroid rodent known from only two specimens taken from near the type locality of Bismarckburg, near Yege, Togo, in 1890. Its genus is monotypic.

Wilson's spiny mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and rocky areas.Molecular evidence suggests that spiny mice (Acomys) are genetically more closely related to gerbils (Gerbillinae) than they are to actual mice (Muridae) based on their murine morphology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otomyini</span> Tribe of rodents

Otomyini is an Old World tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. Musser and Carleton (2005) granted it subfamily status (Otomyinae), but molecular studies consistently show that the otomyines evolved from within the Murinae, leading these researchers to subsume it in this subfamily, sometimes with tribal status. It includes 3 genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millardini</span> Tribe of muroid rodents

Millardini is a tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. Species in this tribe are found in South and Southeast Asia.

Praomyini is a tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. Species in this tribe are found mostly throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, but one species is found in North Africa, and another is found in the Arabian Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arvicanthini</span> Tribe of rodents

Arvicanthini is a tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. Almost all recent species in this tribe are or were found in Africa aside from one species, the Indian bush rat, which is found in South Asia and Iran. However, some fossil Golunda species from India and the genus Parapelomys are thought to have also occurred outside Africa, and one species in the fossil genus Saidomys may have also occurred in Afghanistan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Chevret, P.; Denys, C.; Jaeger, J.J.; Michaux, J.; Catzeflis, F.M. (1993-04-15). "Molecular evidence that the spiny mouse (Acomys) is more closely related to gerbils (Gerbillinae) than to true mice (Murinae)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 90 (8): 3433–3436. Bibcode:1993PNAS...90.3433C. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.8.3433 . PMC   46314 . PMID   8475093.
  2. 1 2 3 Steppan, Scott J.; Adkins, Ronald M.; Anderson, Joel (2004). "Phylogeny and Divergence-Date Estimates of Rapid Radiations in Muroid Rodents Based on Multiple Nuclear Genes". Systematic Biology. 53 (4): 533–553. doi:10.1080/10635150490468701. PMID   15371245.
  3. Jansa, Sharon A.; Weksler, Marcelo (2004). "Phylogeny of muroid rodents: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP gene sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (1): 256–276. Bibcode:2004MolPE..31..256J. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.07.002. PMID   15019624.
  4. Maden, Malcolm; Polvadore, Trey; Polanco, Arod; Barbazuk, W. Brad; Stanley, Edward (2023-05-24). "Osteoderms in a mammal the spiny mouse Acomys and the independent evolution of dermal armor". iScience. 26 (6). Bibcode:2023iSci...26j6779M. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106779 . PMC   10291248 . PMID   37378333.