A mouse is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse. Mice are also popular as pets. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are locally common. They are known to invade homes for food and shelter.
The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
The rodent subfamily Sigmodontinae includes New World rats and mice, with at least 376 species. Many authorities include the Neotominae and Tylomyinae as part of a larger definition of Sigmodontinae. When those genera are included, the species count numbers at least 508. Their distribution includes much of the New World, but the genera are predominantly South American, such as brucies. They invaded South America from Central America as part of the Great American Interchange near the end of the Miocene, about 5 million years ago. Sigmodontines proceeded to diversify explosively in the formerly isolated continent. They inhabit many of the same ecological niches that the Murinae occupy in the Old World.
Tarabul's gerbil is a species of small rodent which is found in arid regions of north western Africa.
Dunn's gerbil is a rodent species distributed mainly in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somaliland and Djibouti. It is an animal of dry grassland and rocky plains. It is also sometimes called the "Somalia gerbil", not to be confused with the Somalian gerbil or the Somali gerbil.
The suborder Myomorpha contains 1,524 species of mouse-like rodents, nearly a quarter of all mammal species. Included are mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, lemmings, and voles. They are grouped according to the structure of their jaws and molar teeth. They are characterized by their myomorphous zygomasseteric system, which means that both their medial and lateral masseter muscles are displaced forward, making them adept at gnawing. As in the hystricognathous rodents, the medial masseter muscle goes through the eye socket, a feature unique among mammals. Myomorphs are found worldwide in almost all land habitats. They are usually nocturnal seed-eaters.
The genus Eligmodontia consists of five or six species of South American sigmodontine mice restricted to Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Species of Eligmodontia occur along the eastern side of the Andes Mountains, in Patagonia, and in the Chaco thorn forest of South America. They can be found in arid and semiarid habitats and in both high and low elevation areas. These rodents are commonly known as gerbil mice or by their local name lauchas. Sometimes they are also called silky desert mice, highland desert mice or silky-footed mice. The closest living relatives are probably the chaco mice (Andalgalomys), the leaf-eared mice, and Salinomys.
The Monte gerbil mouse or Monte laucha is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Argentina.
Morgan's gerbil mouse, also known as the western Patagonian laucha, is a South American species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is named for J. P. Morgan, one of the sponsors of the expedition that first identified the species.
The Andean gerbil mouse or Altiplano laucha is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.
The Patagonian chinchilla mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It was first described by George Robert Waterhouse in 1839. It is found in Tierra del Fuego and neighboring areas of southernmost Argentina and Chile.
The hairy-footed gerbil is a species of rodent found in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, temperate shrubland, hot deserts, sandy shores, and urban areas. All members of this genus have hair on the soles of their feet, hence the name. They prefer sandy soil or sandy alluvium with grass, scrub or light woodland cover.
The High Monte is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in Argentina.
