Muroidea

Introduction

Recent molecular studies using more slowly evolving nuclear genes have modified some traditional groupings based on morphology and greatly increased our confidence in most of the relationships. This muroid tree is based primarily on the nuclear DNA phylogenies of Steppan et al. (2004), Jansa and Weksler (2004), and Michaux et al. (2001) as well as Robinson et al. (1997) and Michaux and Catzeflis (2000). The classification used here follows Steppan et al. (2004) and differs from the more commonly used taxonomy of Musser and Carleton (1993) by recognizing more than a single family within Muroidea. Musser and Carleton (1993) chose to not subdivide the superfamily because of uncertainty about phylogenetic relationships among the many subfamilies. Strong concordance among many molecular phylogenies has greatly improved that situation.

Other Names for Muroidea

• Murid rodents

References

Carleton, M. 1984. Introduction to rodents, pp. 255-265. In S. Anderson and J. K. Jones, Jr., eds., Orders and Families of Recent Mammals of the World. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Carleton, M. D. 1980. Phylogenetic relationships on neotomine-peromyscine rodents (Muroidea) and a reappraisal of the dichotomy within New World Cricetinae. Miscellaneous Publications Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, 157:1-146.

Carleton, M. D., and G. G. Musser. 1984. Muroid rodents, pp. 289-379. In S. Anderson and J. K. Jones, Jr., eds., Orders and Families of Recent Mammals of the World. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Catzeflis, F. M., J. P. Aguilar, and J. J. Jaeger. 1992. Muroid Rodents - Phylogeny and Evolution. Trends Ecol. Evol., 7:122-126.

Catzeflis, F. M., A. W. Dickerman, J. Michaux, and J. A. W. Kirsch. 1993. DNA hybridization and rodent phylogeny, pp. 159-172. In F. S. Szalay, M. J. Novacek and M. C. McKenna, eds., Mammalian Phylogeny: Placentals. Springer-Verlag, New York.

Chaline, J., and J. D. Graf. 1988. Phylogeny of the Arvicolidae (Rodentia) - Biochemical and Paleontological Evidence. J. Mammal., 69:22-33.

Chevret, P., C. Denys, J. J. Jaeger, J. Michaux, and F. Catzeflis. 1993. Molecular and Paleontological Aspects of the Tempo and Mode of Evolution in Otomys (Otomyinae, Muridae, Mammalia). Biochem. Syst. Ecol., 21:123-131.

Dickerman, A. W. 1992. Molecular systematics of some New World muroid rodents. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ellerman, J. R. 1941. The families and genera of living rodents. Vol. 2. Family Muridae. British Museum of Natural History, London, 690 pp.

Engel, S. R., K. M. Hogan, J. F. Taylor, and S. K. Davis. 1998. Molecular systematics and paleobiogeography of the South American sigmodontine rodents. Mol. Bio. Evol., 15:35-49.

Hooper, E. T., and G. G. Musser. 1964. The glans penis in neotropical cricetines (Muridae) with comments on classification of muroid rodents. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, 123:1-57.

Jansa, S. A. and M. Weksler. 2004. Phylogeny of muroid rodents: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP gene sequences. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 31:256-276.

Lavocat, R. 1978. Rodentia and Lagomorpha, pp. 69-89. In V. J. Maglio and H. B. S. Cooke, eds., Evolution of African mammals. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, MA.

Michaux, J., and F. Catzeflis. 2000. The bushlike radiation of muroid rodents is exemplified by the molecular phylogeny of the LCAT nuclear gene. Mol. Phyl. Evo. 17:280-293.

Michaux, J., A. Reyes, and F. Catzeflis. 2001. Evolutionary history of the most speciose mammals: molecular phylogeny of muroid rodents. Mol. Biol. Evol. 18:2017-2031.

Musser, G. M., and M. D. Carleton. 1993. Family Muridae, pp. 501-756. In D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder, eds., Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Smithsonian Institution, Washington.

Reig, O. A. 1980. A new fossil genus of South American cricetid rodents allied to Wiedomys, with an assessment of the Sigmodontinae. Journal of Zoology (London), 192:257-281.

Robinson, M., F. Catzeflis, J. Briolay, and D. Mouchiroud. 1997. Molecular phylogeny of rodents, with special emphasis on murids: Evidence from nuclear gene LCAT. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 8:423-434.

Smith, M. F., and J. L. Patton. 1999. Phylogenetic relationships and the radiation of sigmodontine rodents in South America: evidence from cytochrome b. J. Mamm. Evol., 6:89-128.

Steppan, S. J., R. M. Adkins, and J. Anderson. 2004. Phylogeny and divergence-date estimates of rapid radiations in muroid rodents based on multiple nuclear genes. Syst. Biol. 53:533-553.

Verheyen, E., M. Colyn, and W. Verheyen. 1995. The phylogeny of some African muroids (rodentia) based upon partial mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences. Belg. J. Zoolog., 125:403-406.

Verheyen, E., M. Colyn, and W. Verheyen. 1996. A mitochondrial cytochrome b phylogeny confirms the paraphyly of the Dendromurinae Alston, 1896 (Muridae, Rodentia). Mammalia, 60:780-785.

Information on the Internet