Local animals in this group:
New World mice and woodrats, voles, hamsters, and their relatives
Cricetidae
The family that includes New World mice and woodrats, voles, hamsters, and their relatives is one of the most diverse mammal families in the world. There are about 681 species in this family, making up about 17% of all living mammals! This family is also very widespread, with species that are native to North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Most members of this family look more or less mouse-like or rat-like, although voles, lemmings, and hamsters lack the long tails that are characteristic of other rodent groups. These rodents live in all kind of habitats, eat many kinds of foods, and have many kinds of social systems. They are diverse in their lifestyles as well as in numbers.
BioKIDS home | Questions? | Animal Diversity Web
. "Cricetidae" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed May 20, 2024 at http://localhost:2015/accounts/Cricetidae/BioKIDS is sponsored in part by the Interagency
Education Research Initiative. It is a partnership of the University of Michigan School
of Education, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, and the Detroit
Public Schools. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science
Foundation under Grant DRL-0628151.
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