Muroidea
The Muroidea are a large superfamily of rodents, including mice, rats, voles, hamsters, gerbils, and many other relatives. 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. 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 1750 species.Taxonomy
5 main clades are recognized by Jansa & Weksler.
- Family Spalacidae: Spalacinae, Myospalacinae, and Rhizomyinae
- Family Calomyscidae: Calomyscinae
- Family Nesomyidae: Petromyscinae, Mystromyinae, Cricetomyinae, Nesomyinae, and core dendromurines
- Family Muridae: Murinae, Otomyinae, Gerbillinae, Acomyinae, and Lophiomyinae
- Family Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae, Arvicolinae, and Cricetinae
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 gene, is from Jansa & Weksler. Although Platacanthomyidae was not analyzed by Jansa & Weksler, a study by Fabre et al. 2012 suggests that it is the most basal lineage of Muroidea.
