Rodentia – Rodents
They came early, expanded exponentially, and spread spectacularly
Rodents are tiny-legged furry creatures with ever-growing incisors (so they must gnaw continuously to keep them leveled); imagine a rat, a beaver, or a sweet little hamster. However, you’d be mistaken to go as far as rabbits and hares, but hey! You’re close, very close, in fact!
Rodents bear a rather indecent reputation for carrying some infectious diseases and infestations, from plagues to lice. And still, they’re a vital part of our food chains, consisting massive biomass (and 40% of all mammalian species). You’re not alone if you’ve ever wondered how a notorious mouse got into your house, as these tiny trekkers can pop out of holes as narrow as would only fit a pencil!
Families in this order
The largest family of mammals and rodents containing the Old-World mice and rats, gerbils, whistling rats, and relatives
The family of New World rats and mice, voles, hamsters, and relatives -sounds like a mouthful, no?
A family of mouse-like jumping rodents that are found throughout Eurasia and contain around thirteen species in total
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, it’s not hard to see why we are nuts about squirrels
Giant yet much lovable rodents of South and Central America
The family of chinchillas, the viscachas -rodents with dark eyes, velvety rounded ears, and plush, grayish fur
The spiny rats -when held from the tail, they break it off and run harmlessly to their burrow except for the loss of a tail, obviously!
Degus, rock rats, and viscacha rats -small, social, and highly vocal rodents found in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina
The family of small mouse-like hamsters that are found in n Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan
The family of African and Malagasy endemic rats and mice contains around 61 species and 21 genera
Meet the Hazel mice – a sleepy, charming, undeniably cute rodent family that needs trees to survive and is seriously endangered
A family that contains the world’s most mysterious mammal, Zenkerella which is also lovingly called “the ultimate Pokémon”
Small but mighty: packet gophers are underground mammals that pack a punch despite their shrinking habitat
Meet the Tuco-Tucos, which gets their name from the ‘tuc-tuc’ sound they make while they dig their burrows
A family of burrowing rodents and agricultural pests
They don’t bite, neither they run away. Prepare to get spiked if you mess with a porcupine!
Native to South America, this family includes pet guinea pigs and the largest rodent alive; the capybara
The family of cane rats -large wild rodents that have been recently domesticated in Africa for meat production
The family of chinchilla rats -which are charismatic but look like someone crossed a chinchilla with a rat
Meet the pacas – large pig-like rodents with dots and stripes, short ears, and a barely visible tail
Native to the forests of central Africa, this family of scaly-tailed squirrels contains seven species divided into three genera
These Roly-poly rodents are commonly known as Gundi or comb rats, found in northern Asia and Africa
The family of the jumping mice -why walk when you can jump? It certainly looks cooler!
The family of pocket mice and kangaroo rats -which despite their name, are neither kangaroo nor rats!
Although rodents, blesmols live like insects in colonies of up to several dozen, which a Queen leads
Perhaps the most industrious rodents in the world, meet the family of dam-building swimmers!
Q: What has a rabbit’s face bounces like a kangaroo but is a rodent? A: A Springhare!
-“My, what a long tail you have… and what big feet you have!” – “…all the better to jump with”
The family of dormice and dormouse – tiny, golden-brown creatures known for their sleepy disposition and winter hibernation
Do you know the mountain beavers? You have just never had the time to talk about them. So, now is the time!
They have a face and body that only a mother can love, but naked mole rats can offer biomedical science
A family of hystricomorph rodents that was considered to be extinct for nearly 11 million years
The pacaranas -rare nocturnal rodents that are found only in the tropical forests of the western Amazon River basin
The family contains only a single species -the dassie rat. Rodents that are found in southwestern Africa.
