Muridae

The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and indeed of mammals, containing over 700 species found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.

The name Muridae comes from the Latin mus (genitive muris), meaning "mouse".

Distribution and Habitat

Murids are found nearly everywhere in the world, though many subfamilies have narrower ranges. Murids are not found in Antarctica or many Oceanic Islands. A few species, notably the house mouse and black rat have been introduced worldwide. Murids occupy a broad range of ecosystems from tropical forests to tundras. There are fossorial, arboreal, and semi-aquatic murid species, though most are terrestrial. The extensive list of niches filled by murids helps to explain their relative abundance.

Diet and Dentition

There are a broad range of feeding habits found in murids, ranging from herbivorous and omnivorous species to specialists who consume strictly earthworms, certain species of fungi, or aquatic insects. Most genera consume plant matter and small invertebrates, often storing seeds and other plant matter for winter consumption. Murids have sciurognathous jaws and a diastema is present. Murids lack canines and premolars. There are generally three molars (though sometimes only one or two) and the nature of the molars varies by genera and feeding habits.