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.
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.
The Awash multimammate mouse or Awash mastomys is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found only in Ethiopia. Phylogentically the Awash multimammate mouse is the sister taxon of the Natal multimammate mouse, a species found almost everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara and considered a serious agricultural pest throughout its range.
Mastomys is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Africa. It contains eight species:
The southern multimammate mouse or southern African mastomys is a species of rodent in the family Muridae which is endemic to southern Africa. It is called a multimammate mouse because it can have 8 to 12 pairs of mammae, in comparison other mouse species only have 5 pairs.
The Guinea multimammate mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, arable land, rural gardens, urban areas, and irrigated land. They weigh between 12 and 105 grams.
Hubert's multimammate mouse, or Hubert's mastomys is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Burkina Faso, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal, and possibly Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Niger. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, arable land, rural gardens, urban areas, irrigated land, and seasonally flooded agricultural land.
Verheyen's multimammate mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, intermittent rivers, intermittent freshwater lakes, and urban areas.
The Natal multimammate mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is also known as the Natal multimammate rat, the common African rat, or the African soft-furred mouse. The Natal multimammate rat is the natural host of the Lassa fever virus.
Shortridge's multimammate mouse is a rodent species in the family Muridae. It is native to Angola, Botswana and Namibia. Its natural habitats are moist savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and swamps.
The Angolan multimammate mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Angola and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was formerly classified in the genus Myomyscus but has been reclassified into the genus Mastomys. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and moist savanna.
Brockman's rock mouse, or Brockman's myomyscus is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and possibly Republic of the Congo. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and rocky areas.
Verreaux's mouse or Verreaux's white-footed rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only member of the genus Myomyscus. Other species that had been previously assigned to Myomyscus are now considered to belong to the genera Mastomys, Ochromyscus, Praomys and Stenocephalemys.
The delectable soft-furred mouse or East African praomys is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only member of the genus Montemys; it was formerly classified in the genus Praomys.
The Lukolela swamp rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Verschuren's swamp rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Ochromyscus is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae.
Congomys is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae. Both species in this genus were formerly classified in Praomys, and both are endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Chingawa forest rat is a species of rodent endemic to Ethiopia. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Chingawaemys. It was only described in 2021, when it was discovered during a broad phylogenetic analysis of the tribe Praomyini.
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. In addition, one fossil genus (Karnimata) is known, which inhabited India and Pakistan during the Late Miocene.
