tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
of
semiaquatic
In biology, semiaquatic can refer to various types of animals that spend part of their time in water, or plants that naturally grow partially submerged in water. Examples are given below.
Semiaquatic animals
Semiaquatic animals include:
* Verte ...
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 nat ...
in the family
Arvicolinae
The Arvicolinae are a subfamily of rodents that includes the voles, lemmings, and muskrats. They are most closely related to the other subfamilies in the Cricetidae (comprising the hamsters and New World rats and mice). Some authorities place ...
. They are known as muskrats. They are related to
voles
Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of lo ...
and
lemmings
A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also include ...
.
Classification
It contains two extant species, each in their own genus, both of which are native to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
:
* Genus ''
Neofiber
The round-tailed muskrat (''Neofiber alleni'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae, sometimes called the Florida water rat.Round-tailed muskrat, ''N. alleni''
* Genus ''
Ondatra
The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...
''
**
Muskrat
The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...
, ''O. zibethicus''
Of these, the muskrat (''O. zibethicus'') is found throughout North America aside from the warmer or drier regions, and has been introduced to
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
. The round-tailed muskrat (''N. alleni'') is only found in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and adjacent
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, just outside of the range of ''O. zibethicus''. Some authorities place both genera in different tribes (Ondatrini for ''Ondatra'', Neofibrini for ''Neofiber''), but the
American Society of Mammalogists
The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...
places both in Ondatrini, and some molecular evidence supports a close relation between both genera. Some phylogenetic evidence indicates that
Balkan snow vole
The Balkan snow vole (''Dinaromys bogdanovi''), also known as Martino's snow vole, is the only member of the genus ''Dinaromys''. Eight subspecies of this vole have been recognized from southern parts of Europe. The genus name means "Dinaric mou ...
(''Dinaromys bogdanovi'') may also be a member of the Ondatrini, but this is uncertain and it is still classified in the
Pliomyini
The Balkan snow vole (''Dinaromys bogdanovi''), also known as Martino's snow vole, is the only member of the genus ''Dinaromys''. Eight subspecies of this vole have been recognized from southern parts of Europe. The genus name means "Dinaric mou ...
by the ASM.
Evolution
Ondatrini likely descends from a lineage of
Siberian
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
voles
Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of lo ...
that invaded North America about 5 million years ago. The earliest fossils from this tribe are of fossil ''Ondatra'' from the early
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Ogmodontomys'' and '' Cosomys'', both from North America, are likely also members of this tribe. The Plio-Pleistocene fossil taxa '' Dolomys'', ''
Pliomys
''Pliomys'' is an extinct genus of forest voles, subfamily Arvicolinae, tribe Pliomyini (Musser and Carleton, 2005). One member is the extinct species '' Pliomys episcopalis''. The genus was described by Méhely in 1914, and is paraphyletic
...
'' (of the tribe Pliomyini) and '' Kislangia'' from
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
have also been classified in this group by some authorities, but this has been disputed.
A 2021 phylogenetic study found Ondatrini to form the
sister group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and t ...
to the
Dicrostonychini
Dicrostonychini is a tribe of lemmings in the subfamily Arvicolinae
The Arvicolinae are a subfamily of rodents that includes the voles, lemmings, and muskrats. They are most closely related to the other subfamilies in the Cricetidae (compris ...
(defined as including the members of both Dicrostonychini ''sensu stricto'' and
Phenacomyini
Phenacomyini is a tribe of voles in the subfamily Arvicolinae. It contains five species in two genera, all of which are found in North America.
Species in this tribe are:
* Genus '' Arborimus'' - tree voles
** White-footed vole, ''A. albipes' ...