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 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.
Micromys is a genus of small rodents in the subfamily Murinae. The genus contains two living species: the widespread Eurasian harvest mouse of much of Europe and Asia; and the more restricted Indochinese harvest mouse of Vietnam, southern China, and perhaps nearby regions. Fossils of Micromys date back to the Late Miocene and include at least 10 extinct species, which form several lineages.
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.
Mice in the genus Dendromus are commonly referred to as African climbing mice or tree mice, although these terms are often used to describe all members of the subfamily Dendromurinae. The genus is currently restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, but fossils classified in the genus have been found from Late Miocene deposits in Arabia and Europe.
Apomys, commonly known as earthworm mice, is a genus of rodent endemic to the Philippines. Mice belonging to this genus are generally called Philippine forest mice and can be found on most islands of the Philippines except in Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and the Batanes and Babuyan group of islands.
Vandeleuria is a small genus of rodent from Asia with only three species. It is the only member of the tribe Vandeleurini. Species in this genus are known as the long-tailed climbing mice.
The toros or brush-tailed rats, genus Isothrix, are a group of spiny rats found in tropical South America, particularly in the Amazon Basin.
Chiruromys is a genus of Old World mouse that is restricted to New Guinea and the nearby islands of Goodenough, Fergusson, and Normanby.
The Brazilian arboreal mouse is a South American rodent species of the family Cricetidae. It is found in the Atlantic Forest of southeast Brazil, often close to bamboo thickets. It can be distinguished from Rhagomys longilingua, the only other species in its genus, by the absence of spines among the hair. Formerly believed to be extinct after no sightings were recorded for over 100 years, the species has since been found in four localities. However, it is nowhere common, and all of these are forest fragments, and ongoing deforestation threatens the species' survival. For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "vulnerable".
Maxomys is a genus of rodents, widespread in Southeast Asia. They are mid-sized rodents, similar to rats, that live on the ground of tropical rainforests. There they build nests, padded with fallen leaves from trees. They feed on roots, fallen fruit, and other plants, as well as insects. All species are shy and avoid food from humans.
The Palawan pencil-tailed tree mouse is a species of arboreal rodent in the family Muridae. It is known from lowland forest near sea level, coconut groves, and bamboo thickets. It is endemic to the Palawan Faunal Region in the Philippines. It has been recorded on Balabac, Busuanga, Palawan, Dumaran, and Calauit islands.
The Indomalayan pencil-tailed tree mouse or simply pencil-tailed tree mouse is a species of arboreal rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in northeastern India, southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, and Indonesia. This locally abundant but patchily distributed species occurs in primary and secondary forests, without affinity to particular forest types. It can suffer from deforestation and is sometimes harvested for consumption.
Koopman's pencil-tailed tree mouse is a species of arboreal rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Pagai and Siberut islands in the Mentawai Islands, off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Its natural habitat is tropical primary lowland forest. It is threatened by habitat loss (logging).
The large pencil-tailed tree mouse or greater pencil-tailed tree mouse is a species of arboreal rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Borneo where it is only known from Sabah and Sarawak (Malaysia), although it is likely to also occur in Kalimantan.
The gray-bellied pencil-tailed tree mouse is a species of arboreal rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Borneo where it is known from Gunung Kinabalu and from Long Petak in northern Kalimantan (Indonesia). It probably has wider distribution than currently documented. Its natural habitat is montane tropical forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The small pencil-tailed tree mouse or lesser pencil-tailed tree mouse is a species of arboreal rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Borneo where it is only known from Sabah and Sarawak (Malaysia) and from southern Kalimantan (Indonesia), although it likely occurs more widely.
The gray tree rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae and the only species in the monotypic genus Lenothrix. It is found in forests in Indonesia and Malaysia. A common species, the IUCN has rated it as being of "least concern".
The cerrado climbing mouse or long-tailed rhipidomys is an arboreal rodent species in the family Cricetidae from South America. It is found in primary or secondary forests of the cerrado and caatinga in central and eastern Brazil, and has also been seen in the Atlantic Forest. Its karyotype is 2n = 44, FN = 48-52. They are nocturnal animals and can be found in both tree canopies and on the ground.
Hydromyini is a very large, diverse tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. They are the dominant native rodents in Australasia and one of only two native rodent groups there, the other being the R. fuscipes group of the genus Rattus in the tribe Rattini. They are also found in parts of Southeast Asia.
