Muroidea facts for kids

Muroids; Temporal range: Middle Eocene - Recent
	Microtus arvalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Superfamily:	Muroidea; Illiger, 1811
Families
	Platacanthomyidae; Spalacidae; Calomyscidae; Nesomyidae; Cricetidae; Muridae

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)

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