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Rodents are animals that gnaw with two continuously growing incisors. Forty percent of mammal species are rodents, and they inhabit every continent except Antarctica. This list contains circa 2,700 species in 518 genera in the order Rodentia. [1]
Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing. Most rodents are small, although the capybara can weigh up to 45 kg (100 lb).
The short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla) is a small rodent part of the Chinchillidae family and is classified as an endangered species by the IUCN.Originating in South America, the chinchilla is part of the genus Chinchilla, which is separated into two species: the long-tailed chinchilla and the short-tailed chinchilla.
The least weasel is the product of a process begun 5–7 million years ago, when northern forests were replaced by open grassland, thus prompting an explosive evolution of small, burrowing rodents. The weasel's ancestors were larger than the current form, and underwent a reduction in size to exploit the new food source.
Dormice are small rodents, with body lengths between 6 and 19 cm (2.4 and 7.5 in), and weight between 15 and 180 g (0.53 and 6.35 oz). [6] They are generally mouse-like in appearance, but with furred tails. They are largely arboreal, agile, and well adapted to climbing. Most species are nocturnal.
Most rodents are small, although the capybara can weigh up to 45 kg (99 lb). Central America's 11 species of caviomorph rodents (10% of its total rodent species) are recent immigrants from South America, where their ancestors washed ashore after rafting across the Atlantic from Africa over 30 million years ago. [2]
They are rodents, not marsupials, and their ancestors are thought to have arrived from Asia about 5 million years ago. All are brown or fawn, fading to pale grey or white underneath, have very long tails and, as the common name implies, well-developed hind legs. Half of the hopping mouse species have become extinct since European colonisation.
Spinifex hopping mice live in small family groups of up to 10 individuals in deep, humid burrow systems. Typically, there is a large nest chamber lined with small sticks and other plant material about a metre below the surface, from which several vertical shafts lead upwards. Shaft entrances do not have spoil heaps.