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Rodentia. Rodentia. The single largest group of mammals is the rodentia . Most non-flying mammals are rodents. There are about 1500 living species of rodents (out of 4000 species of mammals). Rodentia. Most people are familiar with mice, rats , hamsters, and guinea pigs.
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Rodentia • The single largest group of mammals is the rodentia. • Most non-flying mammals are rodents. • There are about 1500 living species of rodents (out of 4000 species of mammals).
Rodentia • Most people are familiar with mice, rats, hamsters, and guinea pigs. • Rodentia also includes beavers, muskrats, porcupines, woodchucks, chipmunks, squirrels, prairie dogs, and chinchillas. • Rodentia does NOT include rabbits (they are different from rodents in that they have an extra pair of incisors and other different skeletal features).
Rodentia • Rodents are found native on all continents except Antarctica. • One family of rodents, the Muridae, contains over 1100 species. • These are mice and rats.
Rodentia • Rodents show their greatest diversity in South America. • Some of these include: • mountain viscachas (which are rabbit-like animals that live in the moutains) • Patagonian cavies (which are rabbit-like, fast-running animals with long ears and a short tail) • the coypu (which is a marsh-dwelling animal that is hunted for its fur), • burrowing animals like the pacas and tuco-tuco.
Rodent • The capybara, which also lives in South America, is the largest living rodent. • It is about the size of a pig and gets up to a weight of about 110 pounds. • They live in the plains of South America and are often hunted or ranched for their meat.
Rodent • All rodents share common features. • They have a single pair of incisors in each jaw, and they grow continually throughout life. • The incisors have thick enamel layers on the front but not on the backs; this causes them to retain their chisel shape as they are worn down.
Rodent • Behind the incisors is a large gap in the tooth rows, or diastema. • There are no canines, and typically only a few molars at the rear of the jaws. • Rodents have unique chewing patterns and they also have large jaw muscles to help with this.
Rodent • Male rodents have a baculum, which is a penis bone. • Most rodents are herbivores, but some are omnivores while others eat only insects. • Rodents live in many different places, such as trees and burrows. • They can also be found in some aquatic habitats and also in the desert. • They can be solitary, like the porcupine, or live in highly-social groups, like prairie dogs.
Rodent • Rodents cost billions of dollars in lost crops each year. • Some are also carriers of human disease such as bubonic plague, typhus, and Hanta fever. • Some rodent species are economically important as sources of food or fur. • Others are used extensively in biochemical research (ie. NOD-SCID, C57-Bl6, and nude mice).
Eastern Chipmunk • Tamias striatus
Gray Squirrel • Sciurus carolinensis
Beaver • Castor canadensis
Alabama Beach Mouse • Peromyscus polionotus ammobates
Black Rat • Rattus rattus
