Biology: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 except Antarctica. Some authorities have placed all members of this group into a single family, Muridae, due to difficulties in determining how the subfamilies are related to one another. Many of the families within the Muroidea superfamily have more variations between the families than between the different clades. A possible explanation for the variations in rodents is because of the location of these rodents; these changes could have been due to radiation or the overall environment they migrated to or originated in. The following taxonomy is based on recent well-supported molecular phylogenies.

The muroids are classified in six families, 19 subfamilies, around 280 genera, and at least 1,750 species.

Taxonomy

• Family Platacanthomyidae (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 (vesper rats and climbing rats)
  • 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)

Phylogeny

Five main clades are recognized by Jansa & Weksler (2004).

• Family Spalacidae: Spalacinae, Myospalacinae, and Rhizomyinae (fossorial species of the Old World)
• Family Calomyscidae: Calomyscinae (Asia)
• Family Nesomyidae: Petromyscinae, Mystromyinae, Cricetomyinae, Nesomyinae, and core dendromurines (Africa and Madagascar)
• Family Muridae: Murinae, Otomyinae, Gerbillinae, Acomyinae, and Lophiomyinae (Old World)
• Family Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae, Arvicolinae, and Cricetinae (New World)

Together, Muroidea and its sister group Dipodoidea form the suborder Myomorpha.

The following phylogeny of more than 70 Muroidea genera, based on molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Interphotoreceptor Retinoid Binding Protein (IRBP) gene, is from Jansa & Weksler (2004: 264). Although Platacanthomyidae was not analyzed by Jansa & Weksler (2004), a study by Fabre et al. 2012 suggests that it is the most basal lineage of Muroidea.

Muroidea

Platacanthomyidae     Spalacidae   Spalacinae Spalax       Myospalacinae Myospalax   Rhizomyinae   Tachyoryctes     Rhizomys         Eumuroida   Calomyscidae Calomyscus         Nesomyidae     Hypogeomys       Nesomys     Brachyuromys             Monticolomys     Macrotarsomys         Brachytarsomys       Gymnuromys       Voalavo     Eliurus               Petromyscinae Petromyscus   Mystromyinae Mystromys           Cricetomys     Beamys         Saccostomus       Steatomys     Dendromus             Muridae     Lophiomyinae Lophiomys       Gerbillinae   Tatera     Meriones     Acomyinae   Lophuromys       Deomys     Acomys           Murinae   Phloeomys         Micromys       Maxomys       Niviventer       Sundamys     Rattus               Rhynchomys       Otomys       Aethomys       Rhabdomys     Grammomys             Tokudaia       Mus       Mastomys       Praomys     Hylomyscus                       Cricetidae   Cricetinae   Cricetulus       Phodopus     Mesocricetus             Tylomyinae   Tylomys     Nyctomys     Neotominae   Neotoma       Scotinomys     Peromyscus           Arvicolinae   Microtus       Eothenomys     Clethrionomys       Sigmodontinae     Sigmodon     Rheomys           Scapteromys     Akodon         Reithrodon       Thomasomys     Rhipidomys           Zygodontomys     Scolomys       Oryzomys       Oligoryzomys     Nectomys               Delomys       Phyllotis     Calomys               Juliomys     Irenomys         Wiedomys       Notiomys     Abrothrix

References

• Jansa, S. A.; Giarla, T. C.; Lim, B. K. (2009). "The Phylogenetic Position of the Rodent Genus Typhlomys and the Geographic Origin of Muroidea". Journal of Mammalogy 90 (5): 1083. doi:10.1644/08-MAMM-A-318.1. 
• Jansa, S.A.; Weksler, M. (2004). "Phylogeny of muroid rodents: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP gene sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31 (1): 256–276. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.07.002. PMID 15019624. 
• Michaux, J.; Reyes, A.; Catzeflis, F. (2001). "Evolutionary history of the most speciose mammals: Molecular phylogeny of muroid rodents". Molecular Biology and Evolution 18 (11): 2017–2031. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003743. PMID 11606698. 
• 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.
• Musser, G.G.; Carleton, M.D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". in Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 894–1531. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=13000001. 
• Norris, R. W.; Zhou, K.; Zhou, C.; Yang, G.; William Kilpatrick, C.; Honeycutt, R. L. (2004). "The phylogenetic position of the zokors (Myospalacinae) and comments on the families of muroids (Rodentia)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31 (3): 972–978. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.10.020. PMID 15120394. 

Wikidata ☰ Q58949 entry