''Kritimys'', also known as the Cretan giant rat is an extinct genus of

murid In Sufism, a ''murīd'' (Arabic مُرِيد 'one who seeks') is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by ''sulūk'' (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title murshid, '' pir'' or ''shaykh''. A '' sālik'' or Su ...

rodent that was endemic to the island of

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 the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

. There are two known species, ''K. kiridus'' from the Early-Mid Pleistocene, and its descendant ''K. catreus'' from the Late Pleistocene. As with most island rodents, ''Kritimys'' was larger than its mainland relatives.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107750326 Prehistoric rodent genera Pleistocene rodents Prehistoric Crete Prehistoric mammals of Europe Muridae