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,[1] 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.[2] A possible explanation for the variations in rodents is because of the location of these rodents; these changes could have been due to radiation[3] or the overall environment they migrated to or originated[4] in. The following
taxonomy is based on recent well-supported
molecular phylogenies.[5]
^Steppan, S.; Adkins, R.; Anderson, J. (2004). "Phylogeny and Divergence-Date Estimates of Rapid Radiations in Muroid Rodents Based on Multiple Nuclear Genes". Systematic Biology. 53 (4): 533–553.
doi:
10.1080/10635150490468701.
PMID15371245.
^
abJansa, 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.
PMID15019624.
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.
PMID15019624.
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.
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.
PMID15120394.