Nesomyidae
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. Characteristics Nesomyids are small- to medium-sized rodents, with the largest being the size of a rat. Physically, they may resemble mice, rats, voles, or hamsters, depending on the species and subfamily. Their diets vary from fairly strict herbivory to nearly pure insectivory. Their habits are similarly variable, with some species climbing trees, and others burrowing in the ground. They give birth to up to four young after a gestation period around six weeks. Classification Many of these animals were once thought to be related to other groups of muroid rodents, but this African-based clade has been proposed and confirmed on the basis of genetic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Muroidea
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 muroids are classified in six families, 19 subfamilies, around 280 genera, and at least 1,750 species. Taxonomy *Family Platacanthomyidae (spiny ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rodent
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 i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dendromurinae
Dendromurinae is a subfamily of rodents in the family Nesomyidae and superfamily Muroidea. The dendromurines are currently restricted to Africa, as is the case for all extant members of the family Nesomyidae. The authorship of the subfamily has been attributed to both Alston, 1876, and (incorrectly) to G. M. Allen, 1939. Two genera, ''Dendromus'' and ''Steatomys'', are relatively common throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa. The remaining genera are relatively rare and have restricted geographic distributions. The link rat, ''Deomys ferugineus'', has been traditionally placed in this subfamily, but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that it is more related to the spiny mice, genus '' Acomys''. The link rat is now placed in the family Muridae and subfamily Deomyinae. Only two of the currently recognized dendromurine genera, ''Dendromus'' and ''Steatomys'', have been studied in molecular analyses. Considering how distinct these genera are from one another, the placemen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Beamys
''Beamys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It contains the following species: * Lesser hamster-rat (''Beamys hindei'') * Greater hamster-rat The greater hamster-rat, greater long-tailed pouched rat, or long-tailed pouched rat (''Beamys major'') is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is found in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropica ... (''Beamys major'') References * Rodent genera Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{muroid-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mystromys Albicaudatus
The white-tailed rat (''Mystromys albicaudatus'') also known as the white-tailed mouse, is the only member of the subfamily Mystromyinae in the family Nesomyidae. This species is sometimes placed in the subfamily Cricetinae due to similarities in appearance between the white-tailed rat and hamsters, but molecular phylogenetic studies have confirmed that the two groups are not closely related. The subfamily Mystromyinae is sometimes placed within the family Muridae along with all other subfamilies of muroids. The white-tailed rat is restricted to shrubby areas and grasslands of South Africa and Lesotho. This is an uncommon species, and populations are thought to be declining because of conversion of scrubland to pasture. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being an "endangered species". Description The white-tailed rat is a fairly large species with a head-and-body length of for males and for females, with a short tail of about . The fur is soft ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nesomys
''Nesomys'', also called red forest rats, is a genus of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is found only on Madagascar, and contains the following species: * White-bellied nesomys (''Nesomys audeberti'') * Western nesomys (''Nesomys lambertoni'') * ''Nesomys narindaensis'' † * Island mouse The island mouse or eastern red forest rat (''Nesomys rufus'') is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is endemic to Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Mada ... (''Nesomys rufus'') References Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Rodent genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{muroid-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Petromyscus
''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. The genus contains the following species: * Barbour's rock mouse (''Petromyscus barbouri'') * Pygmy rock mouse (''Petromyscus collinus'') * Brukkaros pygmy rock mouse (''Petromyscus monticularis'') * Shortridge's rock mouse (''Petromyscus shortridgei'') References *Jansa, S. A., S. M. Goodman, and P. K. Tucker. 1999. Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the native rodents of Madagascar (Muridae, Nesomyinae): a test of the single origin hypothesis. Cladistics, 15:253-270. *Jansa, S. A. and M. Weksler. Ph ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Delanymys
Delany's mouse or Delany's swamp mouse (''Delanymys brooksi'') is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Delanymys'' and the only extant member of subfamily Delanymyinae, which also contains the fossil genus '' Stenodontomys''. It was previously placed in subfamily Petromyscinae, but it is apparently not closely related to ''Petromyscus''. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... Classification In 2013, a robust muroid phylogeny found ''Delanymys'' sister to ''Mystromys'' + ''Petromyscus'', reviving the affinity of ''Delanymys'' to petromy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Petromyscinae
''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. The genus contains the following species: * Barbour's rock mouse (''Petromyscus barbouri'') * Pygmy rock mouse (''Petromyscus collinus'') * Brukkaros pygmy rock mouse (''Petromyscus monticularis'') * Shortridge's rock mouse (''Petromyscus shortridgei'') References *Jansa, S. A., S. M. Goodman, and P. K. Tucker. 1999. Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the native rodents of Madagascar ( Muridae, Nesomyinae): a test of the single origin hypothesis. Cladistics, 15:253-270. *Jansa, S. A. and M. Weksler. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nesomyinae
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. These rodents are clearly most closely related to some muroid rodents found on the African mainland. Some molecular phylogeneticists consider this clade of Malagasy and African rodents to represent a distinct family, the Nesomyidae. Other researchers place the Nesomyinae into a large family, Muridae, along with all members of the superfamily Muroidea. It has been reported that the Nesomyinae is not monophyletic, but this has not been supported in other analyses. Additionally, there were problems with this particular study, notably the use of '' Calomyscus'' as an outgroup while more distantly related muroids ( rhyzomyines) were ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mystromyinae
The white-tailed rat (''Mystromys albicaudatus'') also known as the white-tailed mouse, is the only member of the subfamily Mystromyinae in the family Nesomyidae. This species is sometimes placed in the subfamily Cricetinae due to similarities in appearance between the white-tailed rat and hamsters, but molecular phylogenetic studies have confirmed that the two groups are not closely related. The subfamily Mystromyinae is sometimes placed within the family Muridae along with all other subfamilies of muroids. The white-tailed rat is restricted to shrubby areas and grasslands of South Africa and Lesotho. This is an uncommon species, and populations are thought to be declining because of conversion of scrubland to pasture. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being an "endangered species". Description The white-tailed rat is a fairly large species with a head-and-body length of for males and for females, with a short tail of about . The fur is soft ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Delanymyinae
Delany's mouse or Delany's swamp mouse (''Delanymys brooksi'') is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Delanymys'' and the only extant member of subfamily Delanymyinae, which also contains the fossil genus '' Stenodontomys''. It was previously placed in subfamily Petromyscinae, but it is apparently not closely related to ''Petromyscus''. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... Classification In 2013, a robust muroid phylogeny found ''Delanymys'' sister to ''Mystromys'' + ''Petromyscus'', reviving the affinity of ''Delanymys'' to petr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |