The suborder Myomorpha contains 1,524 species 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, nearly a quarter of all mammal species. Included are mice, rats,

gerbil The Mongolian gerbil or Mongolian jird (''Meriones unguiculatus'') is a small rodent belonging to the subfamily Gerbillinae. Their body size is typically , with a tail, and body weight , with adult males larger than females. The animal is us ...

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera.Fox, Sue. 2006. ''Hamsters''. T.F.H. Publications Inc. They have become established as popular small pets. The ...

lemming 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 includ ...

s, and

vole 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 ...

s. They are grouped according to the structure of their jaws and

molar teeth The molars or molar teeth are large, flat teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammals. They are used primarily to grind food during chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, ''molaris dens'', meaning "millstone t ...

. They are characterized by their myomorphous zygomasseteric system, which means that both their medial and lateral

masseter muscle In human anatomy, the masseter is one of the muscles of mastication. Found only in mammals, it is particularly powerful in herbivores to facilitate chewing of plant matter. The most obvious muscle of mastication is the masseter muscle, since it ...

s are displaced forward, making them adept at gnawing. As in the hystricognathous rodents, the medial masseter muscle goes through the eye socket, a feature unique among mammals. Myomorphs are found worldwide (apart from Antarctica) in almost all land habitats. They are usually nocturnal seed-eaters. Most myomorph species belong to the superfamily

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 excep ...

: (

s, true mice, true rats, and

s). *Superfamily

**Family

Platacanthomyidae The rodent family Platacanthomyidae, or Oriental dormice, includes the spiny dormice and the Chinese pygmy dormice. In spite of their appearance, these animals are not true dormice, but are part of the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. ...

( spiny dormice and Chinese pygmy dormice) **Family

Spalacidae The Spalacidae, or spalacids, are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. They are native to eastern Asia, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and southeastern Europe. It includes the blind mole-rats, bamboo rats, m ...

( blind mole-rats and bamboo rats) **Family

Calomyscidae 200px, right 200px, Mouse-like hamster using its tail for balance while standing on a branch (a feat difficult for hamsters) Mouse-like hamsters are a group of small rodents found in Syria, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakis ...

(

mouse-like hamsters 200px, right 200px, Mouse-like hamster using its tail for balance while standing on a branch (a feat difficult for hamsters) Mouse-like hamsters are a group of small rodents found in Syria, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Paki ...

) **Family

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, ...

( Malagasy mice and rats and

African climbing mice Mice in the genus ''Dendromus'' are commonly referred to as African climbing mice or tree mice, although these terms are often used to describe all members of the subfamily Dendromurinae. The genus is currently restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, ...

) **Family

Cricetidae The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice. At almost 608 species, it is the second-largest family of mammals, and h ...

( true hamsters,

s and

s) **Family Muridae ( true rats, true mice and

s) *Superfamily

Dipodoidea Dipodoidea is a superfamily of rodents, also known as dipodoids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. This superfamily includes over 50 species among the 16 genera in 3 families. They include the jerboas (family Dipodidae), jumping mice (fa ...

**Family

Dipodidae Jerboas (from ar, جربوع ') are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia, and are members of the family Dipodidae. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on b ...

( jerboas) **Family

Sminthidae Sminthidae is a family of mouse-like jumping rodents. They are represented by only one extant genus, ''Sicista'', represented by 19 species found throughout most of Eurasia, from central Europe east to Siberia, and south to southern China. However, ...

( birch mice) **Family

Zapodidae Zapodidae, the jumping mice, is a family of mouse-like rodents in North America and China. Although mouse-like in general appearance, these rodents are distinguished by their elongated hind limbs, and, typically, by the presence of four pairs o ...

( jumping mice) Historically, the definition of the suborder Myomorpha has included one or both of: *Superfamily

Geomyoidea Geomyoidea is a superfamily of rodent that contains the pocket gophers ( Geomyidae), the kangaroo rats and mice ( Heteromyidae), and their fossil relatives. Characteristics Although dissimilar in overall appearance, gophers have been united wit ...

(

gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They are ...

s and

kangaroo rats Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed thi ...

) **Family

Heteromyidae Heteromyidae is a family of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice and spiny pocket mice. Most heteromyids live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, though species within th ...

(kangaroo rats) **Family Geomyidae (gophers) *Superfamily Gliroidea (true dormice) **Family Gliridae

References

*Carleton, M. D. and G. G. Musser. 2005. Order Rodentia. Pp745–752 in Mammal Species of the World A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds.). Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press. *Clutton-Brock, Juliet (ed.). 2004. Mouse-like Rodents. Pp150–159 in Animal (David Burnley ed.). London, Dorling Kindersley. Rodent taxonomy Mammal suborders Extant Eocene first appearances Taxa named by Johann Friedrich von Brandt {{rodent-stub