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{{Automatic Taxobox
| fossil_range = early  [[Palaeocene]] – Recent <br/>61.7 mya to present
| image = Rattus norvegicus 2.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Single rat
| taxon = Rodentia
| authority = [[Thomas Edward Bowdich|Bowdich]], 1821
| subdivision_ranks = Suborders
| subdivision =
[[Sciuromorpha]]<br />
[[Castorimorpha]]<br />
[[Myomorpha]]<br />
[[Anomaluromorpha]]<br />
[[Hystricomorpha]]}}
[[File:Micromys minutus.jpg|thumb|A harvest [[mouse]]]]
[[File:Bristol.zoo.capybara.arp.jpg|thumb|[[Capybara]]s]]

'''Rodents''' (from Latin '''rodere''', "to gnaw"), are [[mammal]]s of the order '''Rodentia''', which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. 

== Description ==

Rodents comprise about 40% of all mammal [[species]]. They are native to all major land masses except for New Zealand, Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by [[human]] activity.

== Rodent species ==

Rodent is the naming term of all members of Rodentia order of mammals and can be identified by their teeth. Their incisors (upper and lower) grow throughout their lives. Gnawing on hard material keeps the teeth worn down and sharp. Lagomorphs such as [[rabbit]]s and [[hare]]s are often mistaken for rodents. These animals have an additional pair of upper incisors that rodents lack, a very successful number of mammals that form the [[taxonomy|order]] Rodentia. 

They have no more than 2 [[incisor]]s. These keep growing, and must be kept worn down by gnawing (eroding teeth by grinding them on something hard); this is the origin of the name, from the [[Latin language|Latin]] ''rodere'', "to gnaw", and ''dent'', "tooth".

Most rodents are small. Examples of commonly known rodents are [[mouse|mice]], [[rat]]s, [[chipmunk]]s, and [[squirrel]]s. Some other small rodents sometimes kept as [[pet]]s are [[Guinea pig]]s, [[hamster]]s, and [[gerbil]]s.
Examples of larger rodents are [[porcupine]]s, [[beaver]]s, and the largest living rodent, the [[capybara]], which can grow to between 105 and 135 [[metre|cm]] (40-55 [[inch|in]]) in length, and [[weight|weigh]] 35 to 65 [[kilogram|kg]] (75-140 [[pound (mass)|lbs]]).

Almost half of all mammal [[species]] are rodents. More examples of rodents are [[vole]]s, [[prairie dog]]s, [[groundhog]]s, and [[chinchilla]]s.

[[Rabbit]]s, [[hare]]s, and [[pika]]s are sometimes called rodents, because they also have teeth that keep growing. But in 1912 [[biologist]]s decided to put them in a new, separate order, [[Lagomorpha]], because they have two extra incisors in their upper jaw.

[[Shrew]]s are sometimes called rodents, because they look like mice, but that is not correct. They are in the order [[Insectivora]].

== Taxonomy ==
There are more families than these. The list includes the more common families.

* Order '''Rodentia'''
** Suborder [[Anumaluromorpha]]
*** Family [[Anomalure|Anomaluridae]]
*** Family [[Springhare|Pedetidae]]
** Suborder [[Castorimorpha]]
*** Family [[Castoridae]] (''[[Beaver]]s'')
*** Family [[Geomyoidea]] (''[[Pocket gopher]]s'', ''[[Kangaroo rat]]s and [[Kangaroo mouse|mice]]'')
** Suborder [[Hystricomorpha]]
*** Family [[Gundi|Ctenodactylidae]]
*** Family [[Old World porcupine|Hystricidae]]
*** Family [[Coypu|Myocastoridae]]
*** Family [[Caviidae]]
*** Family [[Chinchillidae]]
*** Family [[Cuniculus|Cuniculidae]]
**Suborder [[Sciuromorpha]]
***Family [[Aplodontiidae]]: [[mountain beaver]]
***Family [[Gliridae]] (also Myoxidae, Muscardinidae): [[dormouse|dormice]]
***Family [[Sciuridae]]: [[squirrel]]s, including [[chipmunk]]s, [[prairie dog]]s, & [[marmot]]s
** Suborder [[Myomorpha]]
*** Superfamily [[Muroidea]]
*** Superfamily [[Dipodoidea]]
**** Family [[Dipodidae]]

== Related pages ==
* ''[[Josephoartigasia]]''

== Other websites ==
{{commonscat|Rodentia}}
{{wikispecies|Rodentia}}

* [http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/rodentia/rodentia.html UCMP Berkeley: Introduction to the Rodentia]
*https://www.utep.edu/leb/pleistnm/taxaMamm/lagomorpha.htm

[[Category:Rodents| ]]

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