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Muridae
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 name Muridae comes from the Latin ' (genitive '), meaning "mouse", since all true mice belong to the family, with the more typical mice belonging to the genus ''Mus''. Distribution and habitat Murids are found nearly everywhere in the world, though many subfamilies have narrower ranges. Murids are not found in Antarctica or many oceanic islands. Although none of them are native to the Americas, a few species, notably the house mouse and black rat, have been introduced worldwide. Murids occupy a broad range of ecosystems from tropical forests to tundras. Fossorial, arboreal, and semiaquatic murid species occur, though most are terrestrial animals. The extensive list of niches filled by murids helps to explain their relative abundance. Diet and dentit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murinae
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. Description The Murinae are native to Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia. They are terrestrial placental mammals. They have also been introduced to all continents except Antarctica, and are serious pest animals. This is particularly true in island communities where they have contributed to the endangerment and extinction of many native animals. Two prominent murine species have become vital laboratory animals: the brown rat and house mouse are both used as medical subjects. The murines have a distinctive molar pattern that involves three rows of cusps instead of two, the primitive pattern seen most fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leimacomyinae
The Togo mouse (''Leimacomys buettneri''), 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. Description and natural history The entirety of known material for this species consists of a single, poor-quality dry skin, a fluid-preserved animal, and a cranium and mandible. The cranium and mandible are from different animals. The material is deposited in the Zoologisches Museum of Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. The head and body length is with a tail of . This tail is unusually short relative to the body length (ratio of 37%) and is considered an important diagnostic feature. The animal is dark to grey brown above and pale grey brown below. Ears are small and hairy. Feet are also somewhat hairy. The tail may be naked or slightly haired. The incisors are shallowly grooved. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodents
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are native to all major land masses except for New Zealand, Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity. Rodents are extremely diverse in their ecology and lifestyles and can be found in almost every terrestrial habitat, including human-made environments. Species can be arboreal, fossorial (burrowing), saltatorial/richochetal (leaping on their hind legs), or semiaquatic. However, all rodents share several morphological features, including having only a single upper and lower pair of ever-growing incisors. Well-known rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Rabbits, hares, and pikas, whose inciso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerbillinae
Gerbillinae is one of the subfamilies of the rodent family Muridae and includes the gerbils, jirds, and sand rats. Once known as desert rats, the subfamily includes about 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all of which are adapted to arid habitats. Most are primarily active during the day, making them diurnal (but some species, including the common household pet, exhibit crepuscular behavior), and almost all are omnivorous. The gerbil got its name as a diminutive form of " jerboa," an unrelated group of rodents occupying a similar ecological niche. Gerbils are typically between long, including the tail, which makes up about half of their total length. One species, the great gerbil (''Rhombomys opimus''), originally native to Turkmenistan, can grow to more than . The average adult gerbil weighs about . One species, the Mongolian gerbil (''Meriones unguiculatus''), also known as the ''clawed jird'', is a gentle and hardy animal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lophiomyinae
The maned rat or (African) crested rat (''Lophiomys imhausi'') is a nocturnal, long-haired and bushy-tailed East African rodent that superficially resembles a porcupine. The world's only poisonous rodent, the maned rat borrows toxins from plants to fend off predators. Description The maned rat's body can grow up to long, or from head to tail. The coat consists of long, silver and black-tipped guard hairs over a dense, woolly, grey and white undercoat, with the face and limbs having short, black fur. A mane of longer, coarser black-and-white banded hairs extends from the top of the animal's head to just beyond the base of the tail. This mane is bordered by a broad, white-bordered strip of hairs covering an area of glandular skin. The forelimbs and hind limbs have short black fur. The forefeet are large and digit 1 of the forefeet does not have a claw while digits 2-5 have a well developed claw. When the animal is threatened or excited, the mane erects and this strip parts, expo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deomyinae
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. 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. This subfamily is united solely on the basis of shared genetic mutations. These conclusions have demonstrated good statistical support using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, and DNA-DNA hybridization. Actually, all of the species in the subfamily share stiff hairs somewhere on their bodies. Because of the lack of physical characteristics supporting this group, it is very possible that the subfamily as it is currently recogniz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class (biology), class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in Female#Mammalian female, females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or hair, and three ossicles, middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles (including birds) from which they Genetic divergence, diverged in the Carboniferous, over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant taxon, extant species of mammals have been described divided into 29 Order (biology), orders. The largest Order (biology), orders, in terms of number of species, are the rodents, bats, and Eulipotyphla (hedgehogs, Mole (animal), moles, shrews, and others). The next three are the Primates (including humans, apes, monkeys, and others), the Artiodactyla (cetaceans and even-toed ungulates), and the Carnivora (cats, dogs, pinniped, seals, and others). In terms of cladistic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Giant Slender-tailed Cloud Rat
The southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat or southern Luzon giant cloud rat (''Phloeomys cumingi''), also known as ''bugkon'' in Filipino, is a vulnerable species of rodent in the family Muridae, found only in southern Luzon in the Philippines. It is dark brown, occasionally with some reddish, but lacking the light-coloured sections usually seen in its close relative, the northern Luzon giant cloud rat The northern Luzon giant cloud rat (''Phloeomys pallidus'') or northern Luzon slender-tailed cloud rat, also known as ''bu-ot'' in Filipino, is a large species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is only found in Luzon, the Philippines. Appeara ... (''P. pallidus''). The southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat is a large rodent that has a total length of about and weighs . Equally at home high amongst the branches of a tree as on the forest floor, the southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat is a slow-moving animal only active at night, spending the day in hollow trees or l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds. While tails are primarily a feature of vertebrates, some invertebrates including scorpions and springtails, as well as snails and slugs, have tail-like appendages that are sometimes referred to as tails. Tailed objects are sometimes referred to as "caudate" and the part of the body associated with or proximal to the tail are given the adjective "caudal". Function Animal tails are used in a variety of ways. They provide a source of locomotion for fish and some other forms of marine life. Many land animals use their tails to brush away flies and other biting insects. Most canines use their tails to comunicate mood and intention . Some species, including cats and kangaroos, use their tails for balance; and some, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Pygmy Mouse
The African pygmy mouse (''Mus minutoides'') is one of the smallest rodents. It is widespread within sub-Saharan Africa, and is kept as a pet in other parts of the world. Like the common house mouse, it is a member of the enormous superfamily Muroidea, which includes about 1000 different species. Grey to brick-red overall, it is pale on the underside and has small but prominent triangular ears. Adults are between long, with a tail, and weigh from . African pygmy mice reach breeding age at about 6 to 8 weeks. Pregnancy lasts for around 20 days and the litter of about three young is born blind and hairless. Their eyes open after 2 weeks, and weaning is complete after 4 weeks. The lifespan is about 2 years, although individual specimens have been reported to live over 4 years in captivity. The African pygmy mouse has a number of unique traits. It stacks pebbles in front of its burrow. Overnight, the pebbles gather dew and in the morning, the pygmy mouse drinks the dew on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vibrissa
Vibrissae (; singular: vibrissa; ), more generally called Whiskers, are a type of stiff, functional hair used by mammals to sense their environment. These hairs are finely specialised for this purpose, whereas other types of hair are coarser as tactile sensors. Although whiskers are specifically those found around the face, vibrissae are known to grow in clusters at various places around the body. Most mammals have them, including all non-human primates and especially nocturnal mammals. Whiskers are sensitive tactile hairs that aid navigation, locomotion, exploration, hunting, social touch and perform other functions. This article is primarily about the specialised sensing hairs of mammals, but some birds, fish, insects, crustaceans and other arthropods are known to have similar structures also used to sense the environment. Etymology Vibrissae (from Latin 'to vibrate') from the characteristic motion seen in a small rodent that is otherwise sitting still. In medicine, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehensile
Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different origins. The most common are tree-climbing and the need to manipulate food. Examples Appendages that can become prehensile include: Uses Prehensility affords animals a great natural advantage in manipulating their environment for feeding, climbing, digging, and defense. It enables many animals, such as primates, to use tools to complete tasks that would otherwise be impossible without highly specialized anatomy. For example, chimpanzees have the ability to use sticks to obtain termites and grubs in a manner similar to human fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
