- Eumuroida
Taxobox
name = "True Muroids"
image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Mus musculus "
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
ordo =Rodent ia
superfamilia =Muroidea
Eumuroida
subdivision_ranks = Families
subdivision =Calomyscidae Nesomyidae Cricetidae Muridae Eumuroida is a
clade defined in 2004 (Steppan et al.) to describe a group of muroidrodent s. Theclade is not defined in the standard taxonomic hierarchy, but it is betweensuperfamily and family.The Eumuroida is technically defined as the
clade including all organisms descended from the most recent common ancestor of theCalomyscidae ,Nesomyidae ,Cricetidae , andMuridae . It specifically excludes thefossorial forms of mouse-like rodents in the familySpalacidae . It is yet to be determined if thePlatacanthomyidae belong to the Eumuroida, but Norris et al. (2004) suggested they do not because of subtle features in theskull .Norris et al. (2004) noted that two characters can be used to define the Eumuroida: the
infraorbital foramen is V-shaped and extends to the roof of thepalate , and the incisive foramina are medium to large in size. Thezygomatic plate is at least moderately developed in this group, producing the V shape. The common ancestor to the Eumuroida were probably not specialized as burrowing animals, whereas the spalacid ancestor may have been.Jansa and Weksler (2004) noted that the Eumuroid ancestor likely had
hamster -like (cricetid) molars as opposed tomouse -like molars (murid). Essentially, the occlusal surface of the molars probably had two rows of cusps (cricetid) instead of three (murid).Early
fossil muroids such as cricetodontines represent a possibleancestor to the Eumuroida. Theserodent s have the cricetid tooth, hence the name: "cricetus" =hamster + "dont" =tooth . The presence of these fossils inEurasia is parsimonious, because most families of eumuroids (except the Nesomyidae) have representatives in Asia. Steppan et al. (2004) suggested that the most recent common ancestor of the Eumuroida lived around the transition between theOligocene andMiocene . This date only slightly precedes the first appearance of cricetodontines.Taxonomy
*Family
Calomyscidae
**SubfamilyCalomyscinae (mouse-like hamster s)
*FamilyNesomyidae
**SubfamilyCricetomyinae (pouched rats and mice)
**SubfamilyDendromurinae (African climbing mice ,gerbil mice ,fat mice andforest mice )
**SubfamilyMystromyinae (white-tailed rat )
**SubfamilyNesomyinae (Malagasy rats and mice)
**SubfamilyPetromyscinae (rock mice and theclimbing swamp mouse )
*FamilyCricetidae
**SubfamilyArvicolinae (vole s,lemming s andmuskrat )
**SubfamilyCricetinae (truehamster s)
**SubfamilyNeotominae (North American rats and mice)
**SubfamilySigmodontinae (New World rats and mice )
**SubfamilyTylomyinae
*FamilyMuridae
**SubfamilyDeomyinae (spiny mice, brush furred mice, link rat)
**SubfamilyGerbillinae (gerbil s, jirds and sand rats)
**SubfamilyLophiomyinae (crested rat )
**SubfamilyMurinae (Old Worldrat s and mice includingvlei rat s)References
*Jansa, S. A. and M. Weksler. 2004. Phylogeny of muroid
rodent s: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBPgene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31:256-276.*McKenna, M. C. and S. K. Bell. 1997. Classification of
Mammal s above theSpecies Level. Columbia University Press, New York.*Michaux, J., A. Reyes, and F. Catzeflis. 2001. Evolutionary history of the most speciose
mammal s: molecularphylogeny of muroidrodent s. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 17:280-293.*Norris, R. W., K. Y. Zhou, C. Q. Zhou, G. Yang, C. W. Kilpatrick, and R. L. Honeycutt. 2004. The phylogenetic position of the
zokor s (Myospalacinae ) and comments on the families of muroids (Rodent ia). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31:972-978.*Steppan, S. J., R. A. Adkins, and J. Anderson. 2004.
Phylogeny anddivergence date estimates of rapid radiations in muroidrodent s based on multiple nucleargenes . Systematic Biology, 53:533-553.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.