The subfamily Deomyinae consists of four genera of mouse-like

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 n ...

s that were placed in the subfamilies

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 excep ...

and

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 h ...

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

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

tic 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 recognized is subject to enlargement. Many of the genera currently placed in the

have never been included in a molecular phylogenetic analysis. Potential surprises await when they are. All genera are found in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, suggesting the deomyines may have originated there. The spiny mice, '' Acomys'' spp., are also found in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. The four genera and 54 species included in the Deomyinae are: *Subfamily Deomyinae **Genus '' Acomys'' - spiny mice *** Western Saharan spiny mouse, ''Acomys airensis'' *** Cairo spiny mouse, ''Acomys cahirinus'' *** Chudeau's spiny mouse, ''Acomys chudeaui'' *** Asia Minor spiny mouse, ''Acomys cilicicus'' ***

Gray spiny mouse The gray spiny mouse (''Acomys cineraceus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, rocky areas, arable land Arable land (from the ...

, ''Acomys cineraceus'' *** Eastern spiny mouse, ''Acomys dimidiatus'' *** Fiery spiny mouse, ''Acomys ignitus'' *** Johan's spiny mouse, ''Acomys johannis'' *** Kemp's spiny mouse, ''Acomys kempi'' ***

Louise's spiny mouse Louise's spiny mouse (''Acomys louisae'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland A grassland ...

, '' Acomys louisae'' ***

Crete spiny mouse The Crete spiny mouse (''Acomys minous'') is a species of mouse endemic to Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and th ...

, ''Acomys minous'' ***

Mullah spiny mouse The Mullah spiny mouse (''Acomys mullah'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland Tropical and subtropical grasslands, s ...

, ''Acomys mullah'' ***

Cyprus spiny mouse The Cyprus spiny mouse (''Acomys nesiotes'') is a little-known rodent endemic to Cyprus. These nocturnalN ...

, ''Acomys nesiotes'' ***

Percival's spiny mouse Percival's spiny mouse (''Acomys percivali'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland ( ...

, ''Acomys percivali'' ***

Golden spiny mouse The golden spiny mouse (''Acomys russatus'') gets its name from the reddish-orange spiny fur that covers its body from head to tail. This coarse, inflexible fur is thought to protect it from predation.

, ''Acomys russatus'' ***

Seurat's spiny mouse Seurat's spiny mouse (''Acomys seurati'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Algeria. Its natural habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that ...

, ''Acomys seurati'' ***

Southern African spiny mouse The southern African spiny mouse (''Acomys spinosissimus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural h ...

, ''Acomys spinosissimus'' ***

Cape spiny mouse The Cape spiny mouse (''Acomys subspinosus'') is a murid rodent found in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. They have a dorsal covering of spiny hairs with dark grey-brown coloration, and a white underbelly. The Cape Spiny Mouse has large ...

, ''Acomys subspinosus'' *** Wilson's spiny mouse, ''Acomys wilsoni'' **Genus '' Deomys'' ***

Link rat The link rat (''Deomys ferrugineus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is also known by the common name Congo forest mouse.Schlitter, D. & Kerbis Peterhans, J. 2008''Deomys ferrugineus''.The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. V ...

, ''Deomys ferrugineus'' **Genus '' Lophuromys'' - brush-furred mice ***Subgenus ''Kivumys'' **** Yellow-bellied brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys luteogaster'' **** Medium-tailed brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys medicaudatus'' **** Woosnam's brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys woosnami'' ***Subgenus ''Lophuromys'' **** Angolan brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys angolensis'' **** Ansorge's brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys ansorgei'' **** Gray brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys aquilus'' **** Short-tailed brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys brevicaudus'' **** Thomas's Ethiopian brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys brunneus'' **** Chercher Mountains brush-furred mouse, ''Lophuromys chercherensis'' **** Ethiopian forest brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys chrysopus'' **** Dieterlen's brush-furred mouse, ''Lophuromys dieterleni'' **** Dudu's brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys dudui'' **** Eisentraut's brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys eisentrauti'' **** Yellow-spotted brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys flavopunctatus'' **** Hutterer's brush-furred mouse, ''Lophuromys huttereri'' **** Kilonzo's brush-furred mouse, ''Lophuromys kilonzoi'' ****'' Lophuromys laticeps'' ****'' Lophuromys machangui'' **** Makundi's brush-furred mouse, ''Lophuromys makundii'' ****'' Lophuromys margarettae'' ****

Black-clawed brush-furred rat The black-clawed brush-furred rat (''Lophuromys melanonyx'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Ethiopia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss ...

, ''Lophuromys melanonyx'' **** Menagesha brush-furred mouse, ''Lophuromys menageshae'' **** Fire-bellied brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys nudicaudus'' **** False rusty-bellied brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys pseudosikapusi'' **** Rahm's brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys rahmi'' ****'' Lophuromys rita'' **** Mount Cameroon brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys roseveari'' **** Sabuni's brush-furred mouse, ''Lophuromys sabunii'' **** Rusty-bellied brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys sikapusi'' ****'' Lophuromys simensis'' **** Stanley's brush-furred mouse, ''Lophuromys stanleyi'' **** Verhagen's brush-furred mouse, ''Lophuromys verhageni'' **** Zena's brush-furred rat, ''Lophuromys zena'' **Genus '' Uranomys'' ***

Rudd's mouse Rudd's mouse or the white-bellied brush-furred rat (''Uranomys ruddi'') is the only member of the genus ''Uranomys''. This animal is closely related to the spiny mice, brush-furred mice, and the link rat. Description Head and body sizes ran ...

, ''Uranomys ruddi''

References

*Chevret, P., C. Denys, J.-J. Jaeger, J. Michaux, AND F. M. Catzeflis. 1993. Molecular evidence that the spiny mouse ('' Acomys'') is more closely related to gerbils (

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 a ...

) than to the true mice (Murinae). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 90:3433-3436. *Jansa, S. A. and M. Weksler.

Phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...

muroid 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 excep ...

s: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP

sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31:256-276. *Michaux, J., A. Reyes, and F. Catzeflis. 2001. Evolutionary history of the most speciose mammals: molecular

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...

s. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 17:280-293. *Steppan, S. J., R. A. Adkins, and J. Anderson. 2004.

and divergence date estimates of rapid radiations in

muroid rodent 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 A ...

s based on multiple nuclear

s. Systematic Biology, 53:533-553. {{Taxonbar, from=Q131896 Mammal subfamilies . Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas