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.
Zokors are Asiatic burrowing rodents resembling mole-rats. They include two genera: Myospalax and Eospalax. Zokors are native to much of China, Kazakhstan, and Siberian Russia.
Mouse-like hamsters are a group of small rodents found in Syria, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. They are found in rocky outcrops and semi-mountainous areas in desert regions.
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 almost 608 species, it is the second-largest family of mammals, and has members throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.
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.
The Eumuroida are a clade defined in 2004 by Steppan et al. that includes rats, mice and related species, though not all rodents; in other words, a specific group of muroid rodents. The clade is not defined in the standard taxonomic hierarchy, but it is between superfamily and family.
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 1⁄4 of all mammal species. Sometimes the pouched rats are placed in the family Muridae along with all other members of the superfamily Muroidea.
Spalax is a genus of rodent in the family Spalacidae, subfamily Spalacinae. It is one of two extant genera in the subfamily Spalacinae, alongside Nannospalax.
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 subfamily Deomyinae consists of four genera of mouse-like rodents that were placed in the subfamilies Murinae and Dendromurinae until very recently. 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.
Petromyscus is a genus of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is so distinct from other rodents that it is placed as the only genus in subfamily Petromyscinae. In previous classifications, Delanymys brooksi has also been placed in the subfamily. They are found in southwestern Africa. These animals have a sharp lower point to their V-shaped infraorbital canal. Their molars are intermediate between the ancestral cricetid style tooth and the dendromurine style tooth.
Hotson's mouse-like hamster also known as Hotson's calomyscus or Hotson's brush-tailed mouse is a species of rodent in the family Calomyscidae. It is endemic to southwestern Pakistan and southeastern Iran.
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.
Retinol-binding protein 3, interstitial (RBP3), also known as interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RBP3 gene. RBP3 orthologs have been identified in most eutherians except tenrecs and armadillos. An horizontal gene transfer from bacteria has been proposed to explain the evolution of the eye in chordates.
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.
Voalavo is a genus of rodent in the subfamily Nesomyinae, found only in Madagascar. Two species are known, both of which occur in mountain forest above 1250 m (4100 ft) altitude; the northern voalavo lives in northern Madagascar and eastern voalavo is restricted to a small area in the central part of the island. The genus was discovered in 1994 and formally described in 1998. Within Nesomyinae, it is most closely related to the genus Eliurus, and DNA sequence data suggest that the current definitions of these two genera need to be changed.
The northern voalavo, also known as the naked-tailed voalavo or simply the voalavo, is a rodent in the family Nesomyidae found in the Northern Highlands of Madagascar. Discovered in 1994 and formally described in 1998, it is the type species of the genus Voalavo; its closest relative is the eastern voalavo of the Central Highlands. DNA sequencing suggests that it may be more closely related to Grandidier's tufted-tailed rat than to other species of the closely related genus Eliurus. The northern voalavo is found at 1,250 to 1,950 m above sea level in montane wet and dry forests in the Marojejy and Anjanaharibe-Sud massifs. Nocturnal and solitary, it lives mainly on the ground, but it can climb and probably eats plant matter. Despite having a small range, the species is classified as being of least concern because it lacks obvious threats and much of its range is within protected areas.
The Malagasy mountain mouse or Koopman's montane voalavo is a rodent within the subfamily Nesomyinae of the family Nesomyidae. It is monotypic within the genus Monticolomys, and is closely related to the big-footed mouse (Macrotarsomys). It is found in the highlands of eastern Madagascar. A small mouse-like rodent, it is dark brown on the upperparts and dark gray below. It has small, rounded, densely haired ears and broad feet with well-developed pads. The long tail lacks a tuft at the tip. The skull is delicate and lacks crests and ridges on its roof.
Petter's tufted-tailed rat is a rodent in the genus Eliurus found in lowland eastern Madagascar. First described in 1994, it is most closely related to the smaller Eliurus grandidieri. Virtually nothing is known of its natural history, except that it occurs in rainforest and is nocturnal and solitary. It is threatened by destruction and fragmentation of its habitat and is listed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List.
