There are more than 5 species of Muridae, which is the second largest family of mammals. Its members are very diverse and can be divided into several subfamilies, most of which belong to Murinae. Rattus rattus, Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus (right) of the genus Rattus in the family Muridae have arrived all over the world with human beings. They are the most successful and common mammals, generally regarded as pests, and have also been cultivated into albino varieties for medical experiments. In addition to the artificially diffused species, the natural distribution of rodents is limited to the Old World, many of which are limited in distribution, and some are on the verge of extinction or have already become extinct. There are two distribution centers of Muridae, one is from southern Asia to Oceania, among which Nanyang Islands is the most abundant, and the other is Africa, with fewer species than the previous area. These two areas have their own genera and species, and only a few mice, such as Mus, are endemic in these two areas. In addition to several species of domestic mice that spread with human beings, only Apodemus Apodemus and Micromys are found in Europe and northern Asia, and a few species of Rattus rattoides are distributed in other parts of Asia, and other species of rodents are confined to these two areas, among which Micromys minutus (left) is the only species of Rattus Rattoides. It is distributed in the vast area of Eurasia, and is one of the smallest rodents. It has a winding tail and can climb on the grass. It is also called the Old World vole, which corresponds to the real hamster in the New World. Rodents adapt to different living environments, and their shapes and habits are diversified. Typical members of the rodent family are similar in morphology and habits to domestic mice, but some of them are quite different. For example, Hydromys chrysogaster, an Australian water rat in Australia, is large, weighing up to one kilogram, semi-aquatic, and feeds on fish and other aquatic animals; Notomys, an Australian squirrel, is a bipedal jumping action, mainly living in desert areas, similar to the American Gruber; The hairs on Acomys in Africa, Tokudaia in Ryukyu Islands and Platacanthomys, which were transplanted from Dormouse Subsubfamily, became protective spines. There are many species that adapt to arboreal life. In the family Muridae, there are many different members, such as aquatic, arboreal and spiny members, in a genus of Muridae alone. Rattus is the largest genus of rodents, and it is also the most chaotic one. Some people think that there are more than 18 species, which is the largest genus of mammals. Others merge or remove some members, leaving only about 8 species, which are basically limited to Southeast Asia and Oceania, and the species are less than those of insectivora, but even so, it is still the largest genus of rodents.
Acomys subspinosus
notomomys Alexis
Hydromys chrysogaster
Circadidae
Circadidae is the largest family of mammals, with more than 6 existing species and many fossil species, which can be divided into several different subfamilies and families. There are the most species in the New World, among which all members of the suborder Rodentia in South America are counted, followed by the northern part of Eurasia, which is the main rodent in the northern part of Eurasia. It is also distributed in the African continent and Madagascar, and it is the only rodent in Madagascar, but it is not distributed in the distribution center of Rodentia in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The western rodent subfamily (Dustfurninae) is mainly distributed in Central and South America, and a few in North America. It is the only member of the rodent subfamily in South America. Due to the lack of competition from other rodents, it has developed into a group with a wide variety and diverse living habits, with about 35 species, more than half of the rodent family. Most members of the Western Rodinae are similar in appearance and habits to the typical members of the Old World Rodinae, occupying the position of the Rodinae in the mainland, but they also include members of insect-eating and small animals, semi-aquatic members of fish-eating and aquatic invertebrates, burrowing members and arboreal members, occupying various living environments.
salt marsh grass rat reithrodontomis ravi venturis
Cricetinae, a hamster subfamily, may be closely related to the western rodent subfamily, and some people have merged the western rodent subfamily into the hamstersubfamily. Hamsters are mainly distributed in Asia, and a few in Europe, many of which are adapted to life in arid areas. Another species, Mystromys albicaudatus, is distributed in Africa, and some people classify it as Falklandia. Typical members of Hamster subfamily are obese and cute with short tail. Among them, Mesocicetus auratus, a golden hamster originally distributed in the Middle and Near East, is widely kept as a pet and is called "Golden Bear".
golden hamster mesocetus auratus
Myospalacinae is a rodent adapted to underground life, with short tail, small eyes, poor eyesight, degenerated external ear and only small skin folds. Zookeepers are mainly distributed in China, but also in Mongolia and Siberia. They inhabit remote forests, grasslands and farmland, live in underground caves during the day, occasionally go to the ground at night, feed on roots, stems and seeds of plants and store a lot of food in caves. Zookeepers dig holes very quickly, and the cave system is complex and has many branches. Usually, there is no obvious exit on the ground, but there are irregular mounds nearby.
Nesomyinae, named after its distribution in Madagascar, is the only rodent on the island, with more than ten species of * * *. Although there are not many species of rats in the island, they are very diverse, ranging from arboreal to terrestrial, as well as jumping members, and their feeding habits range from plants to insects. Some people think that these different rodents on the island are not of a single origin, so they can be eliminated and their members placed in other groups.
Lophiomyinae only includes Lophiomys imhausi, a crown mouse distributed in northeast Africa. The hair on the crown mouse is long, and sometimes it will stand up to form a crown. The hair on the tail of the crown mouse is also long, and it seems that the tail is thicker than other hamsters. The crown mouse is stout, similar to a guinea pig, weighing up to 2.5 kilograms, and is the largest member of the suborder Rodentica. The crown mouse hides in the cave during the day and climbs to the tree for food at night. Although its body looks heavy, its climbing skills are superb.
crown mouse Lophiomys imhausi
Microtiniae, also known as subfamily, is the second largest subfamily of Carnivora. Microtus subfamily is distributed in Eurasia and North America. It can enter the Arctic Circle in the northernmost part and reach the northern part of Southeast Asia and South Asia and Guatemala in the southernmost part. Microtus subfamily is the most important rodent in Eurasia and northern North America, and it plays an important role in the food chain in that area. Microtus subfamily adapts to various living environments, some species adapt to grassland and farmland life, some species adapt to forest life, some species inhabit mountains, some species inhabit Arctic tundra, some species are burrowing, and some species are semi-aquatic, most of them eat plant food and a few eat animal food. Many members of Microtus subfamily live in groups, and some species of lemmings have the habit of migrating in groups when there are too many. The number of lemmings has a great influence on carnivores in the Arctic.
water Arvicola terrestris
Gerbillidae of gerbilidae
gerbillidae is named because it is mainly distributed in desert areas. Gerbils are mainly distributed in Africa, and can also be found in inland Asia and Europe, and some of them are found in northern China, especially in northwest China. Gerbils are very adapted to life in arid areas. They hardly need to drink water all their lives, have sharp claws, can dig complex caves and store a lot of food in caves. Some species of gerbils have long hind legs, keep their bodies away from the hot sand, are suitable for jumping and walking, and have long tails for balance. Gerbils are an important food source for desert carnivores.
south African gerbil Tatera Africa
the family Spalacidae
the family Spalacidae, also known as the mole-type rodent family, is a highly adapted underground burrowing rodent, which is more specialized than other burrowing rodents, with completely degenerated eyes, no external ear and no tail. Blind mice have big heads and well-developed incisors, and they use their heads and incisors more than their forelimbs to dig holes. Blind mice mainly eat plants, and occasionally eat insects and other foods. Blind rats are distributed in Caspian Sea, Middle and Near East, North Africa and Southeast Europe.
Rhizomyidae of Bambusoideae
Rhizomyidae of Bambusoideae includes Rhizomys of Asian bamboo rat, Cannomys of small bamboo rat and Tachyoryctes of Africa, which are rodents adapted to underground burrowing. Bamboo rats are mainly distributed in the south of China, and can reach Malaya and Sumatra to the south. They often live in bamboo forests and like to eat underground stems and bamboo shoots of bamboo. They are large and weigh 6-8g. The small bamboo mouse is small in size, distributed from Myanmar and Thailand to Nepal and Bhutan, and appears in the border area between China and Myanmar. The quick-digging mouse, also known as the African bamboo mouse, is distributed in East Africa. It is more adaptable to underground life than the bamboo mouse, but not as good as the blind mouse. It has an external ear, sighted eyes and a relatively long tail.
Tachyoryctes macrocephalus
Dipodoidea of Jerboa
Dipodoidea of Jerboa is a small rodent that is good at jumping, with long hind limbs and slender tail. Jerboa superfamily is distributed in Eurasia, North America and northern Africa, and can be divided into forest jerboa family and jerboa family. Jerboa superfamily includes some of the smallest rodents, among which Salpingotulus michaelis, a small horn jerboa distributed in Pakistan, is the smallest rodent with a head length of less than 5 cm, and the forest jerboa is less than 1 cm. Members of jerboa superfamily have hibernation habits, and some species hibernate for a long time.
Zapodidae of the forest jerboa family
Zapodidae of the forest jerboa family is a subfamily distributed in the northern continent, in which North America and Eurasia each have two genera. Although the hind limbs of the members of the forest jerboa family are longer than the forelimbs, they are far less than those of the jerboa family. In some species, the hind limbs are only slightly longer than the forelimbs, the ears are shorter and rounder than the jerboa, and the appearance is slightly like a typical mouse, with a long tail but no tail spike at the end. Members of the jerboa family live in forests, swamps and open areas, eating fruits, seeds and insects, and their food composition varies with species. Eozapus setchuanus is not only a unique species in China, but also a unique genus in China. It is distributed in western China from Gansu to Yunnan, and its number is very rare.
Zapus princeps
Dipodidae of jerboa
Dipodidae is a rodent adapted to desert life, so it is named after its long hind legs and its bipedal jumping. Compared with other similar jumping rodents, jerboa's hind limbs and tail are longer, the hind limbs are even four times longer than the forelimbs, and the tail hair is long enough to form a tail spike. Some species have larger ears and usually larger eyes. The jerboa family is mainly distributed in the arid areas of central and western Asia and also found in northern Africa. There are several species of jerboa in China, among which Euchoreutes naso, a long-eared jerboa, is basically a special product in China, distributed in northwest China, and only found in outer Altai of Mongolia abroad. Long-eared jerboa has a special shape and can form a subfamily by itself. Compared with other jerboa, the long-eared jerboa has a sharp snout, small eyes and extremely long ears, almost half the length of its head and body, and is the animal with the largest proportion of ears.
little jumping mouse (African jerboa) Jaculus jaculus
Dormantoidea
The species of Dormantoidea are named for their nocturnal nature, and the species distributed in temperate zones have hibernation habits and hibernate for a long time, but some members of Dormantoidea are also distributed in Africa, where hibernation is not necessary. There are different opinions on the classification of Dormantoidea. Traditionally, it is divided into Gliridae, Platacathomyidae and Seleviniidae of Dormantidae. Some people put the latter two families in Dormantidae, but now the Dormantidae distributed in South Asia and South China is generally placed in Muridae.
Gliridae
Gliridae is divided into Glirinae distributed in Eurasia and Graphiurinae distributed in Africa. Members of Dormingidae have fluffy and hairy tails, which look like obese squirrels. They are mostly small in size, arboreal, plant-eating and occasionally eat animal food. Dormice in temperate regions nest in trees in summer, hibernate mainly in tree holes close to the ground in winter, and also use caves abandoned by cave rabbits to eat very fat before hibernation. Dormantidae are basically nocturnal animals, but pen-tailed Dormouse, which lives in the dark tropical rain forest, also comes out during the day.
graphurus ocularis
Seleviniidae
Seleviniidae is only one species of desert Dormouse, Selvinia betpakdalensis (right), which is distributed in the desert area of southeast Kazakhstan. The shape and habits of the desert Dormouse are different from those of the Dormouse. The tail hair is short, and it jumps on its hind legs. It mainly eats insects and plants, digs holes in the desert to live and stores food in the holes.
Resources: Encyclopedia.