Muroidea

Muroidea is a large superfamily of rodents.  It includes hamsters, gerbils, true mice and rats, and many other relatives.  They live on almost every continent except Antarctica.  Some scientists have placed all members of this group into a single family, Muridae.  Sometimes there are difficulties in knowing how the subfamilies are related to one another. 

The muroids are classified in 6 families, 19 subfamilies, around 280 genera and at least 1300 species.

 Taxonomy 
 Family Platacanthomyidae - incertae sedis - (spiny dormouse and pygmy dormice)
 Family Spalacidae fossorial muroids
 Subfamily Myospalacinae (zokors)
 Subfamily Rhizomyinae (bamboo rats and root rats)
 Subfamily Spalacinae (blind mole rats)
 Clade Eumuroida - typical muroids
 Family Calomyscidae
 Subfamily Calomyscinae (mouse-like hamsters)
 Family Nesomyidae
 Subfamily Cricetomyinae (pouched rats and mice)
 Subfamily Dendromurinae (African climbing mice, gerbil mice, fat mice and forest mice)
 Subfamily Mystromyinae (white-tailed rat)
 Subfamily Nesomyinae (Malagasy rats and mice)
 Subfamily Petromyscinae (rock mice and the climbing swamp mouse)
 Family Cricetidae
 Subfamily Arvicolinae (voles, lemmings and muskrat)
 Subfamily Cricetinae (true hamsters)
 Subfamily Neotominae (North American rats and mice)
 Subfamily Sigmodontinae (New World rats and mice)
 Subfamily Tylomyinae
 Family Muridae
 Subfamily Deomyinae (spiny mice, brush furred mice, link rat)
 Subfamily Gerbillinae (gerbils, jirds and sand rats)
 Subfamily Leimacomyinae (Togo Mouse)
 Subfamily Lophiomyinae (crested rat)
 Subfamily Murinae (Old World rats and mice including vlei rats)

 References 
 Primary Taxonomic Reference
 Steppan, S. J., R. A. Adkins, and J. Anderson. 2004. Phylogeny and divergence date estimates of rapid radiations in muroid rodents based on multiple nuclear genes. Systematic Biology, 53:533-553.
 Other Taxonomic References
 Jansa, S. A. and M. Weksler. Phylogeny of muroid rodents: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP gene 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 of muroid rodents. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 17:280-293.
 Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 1993. Family Muridae.  Pp. 501-755 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.
 Norris, R. W., K. Y. Zhou, C. Q. Zhou, G. Yang, C. W. Kilpatrick, and R. L. Honeycutt. 2004. The phylogenetic position of the zokors (Myospalacinae) and comments on the families of muroids (Rodentia). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31:972-978.

Category:Rodents