Rodentia

Rats and squirrels

Rodentia is the taxonomic order comprising rodents—mammals characterized by continuously growing front teeth adapted for gnawing.

The order includes mice, rats, squirrels, beavers, porcupines, and capybaras, making it the largest order of mammals by number of species.

The name derives from a Latin word meaning to gnaw.

common

mouse

Small gnawing mammal

  • ratRodent or informer
  • squirrelBushy-tailed tree rodent
  • beaverDam-constructing aquatic rodent

chipmunk · hamster · gerbil · guinea pig · porcupine · capybara · chinchilla · vole · lemming · muskrat

anatomy

incisors

Front cutting teeth

claws · whiskers · tail · fur · dentition · skull · mandible

ecology

burrow

Animal's dug dwelling

  • nestAnimal-built shelter for young
  • colonyDependent territorial settlement
  • herbivorePlant-only consumer

cache · hoarding · gnawing · foraging · nocturnal · habitat · pest · seed dispersal · ecosystem · warren

classification

order

Methodical arrangement or request

suborder · family · genus · species · taxonomy · phylogeny · clade · lagomorph · placental

research

laboratory

Facility for scientific investigation

  • geneticsScience of hereditary transmission
  • behaviorManner of conducting oneself
  • mazePuzzle of passages

experiment · breeding · biomedical · psychology · neuroscience · testing

Opposites
taxonomic order classification

RodentiaPrimates

Order of grasping mammals

size and predator-prey dynamics

Rodentiaapex predators

Dominant hunters, no natural enemies

megafauna · Felidae · Canidae

historical taxonomic confusion

Rodentiarabbits

Burrowing lagomorphs with long ears

hares · pikas

Phrases
Family

rodent, rodents, rodenticide

Familiarity
Top 1,000,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Rated G