Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Synapsida
Cladus: Eupelycosauria
Cladus: Sphenacodontia
Cladus: Sphenacodontoidea
Cladus: Therapsida
Cladus: Theriodontia
Cladus: Cynodontia
Cladus: Eucynodontia
Cladus: Probainognathia
Cladus: Prozostrodontia
Cladus: Mammaliaformes
Classis: Mammalia
Cladus: Theriimorpha
Cladus: Theriiformes
Cladus: Trechnotheria
Cladus: Zatheria
Subclassis: Theria
Cladus: Eutheria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Magnordo: Boreoeutheria
Superordo: Euarchontoglires
Cladus: Gliriformes
Grandordo: Glires
Mirordo: Simplicidentata
Ordo: Rodentia
Subordo: Myomorpha
Superfamilia: Muroidea
Familia: Nesomyidae
Subfamilia: Cricetomyinae
Genera (3): Beamys - Cricetomys - Saccostomus
Name
Cricetomyinae Roberts, 1951: 434
Type genus: Cricetomys Waterhouse, 1840.
References
Primary references
Roberts, A. 1951. The Mammals of South Africa. Trustees of "The mammals of South Africa" book fund: Johannesburg. xlviii + 700 pp. GoogleBooks Reference page.
Additional references
Musser, G.G. & Carleton, M.D. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894–1531 in Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D.M. (eds.) . Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore. 2 volumes. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. Reference page.
Pouched rats are a group of African rodents in the subfamily Cricetomyinae. They are members of the family Nesomyidae, which contains other African muroids such as climbing mice, Malagasy mice, and the white-tailed rat. All nesomyids are in the superfamily Muroidea, a large and complex clade containing 1⁄4 of all mammal species. Sometimes the pouched rats are placed in the family Muridae along with all other members of the superfamily Muroidea.
Pouched rats are found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of southern Africa. They are characterized by having large cheek pouches and a distinctive molar morphology. The molars are very similar to the type seen in the subfamily Murinae, but pouched rats probably evolved this similarity through convergent evolution.
There are three very different genera of pouched rats. The giant pouched rat is notable for being the largest of the muroids. A giant pouched rat was also implicated as a carrier in a small outbreak of monkeypox in the US. The three genera of Cricetomyinaeds contain eight species.
Classification
Subfamily Cricetomyinae - pouched rats
Genus Beamys
Lesser hamster-rat, Beamys hindei
Greater hamster-rat, Beamys major
Genus Cricetomys - giant pouched rats
Southern giant pouched rat, Cricetomys ansorgei
Gambian pouched rat, Cricetomys gambianus
Emin's pouched rat, Cricetomys emini
Kivu giant pouched rat, Cricetomys kivuensis
Genus Saccostomus - pouched mice
South African pouched mouse, Saccostomus campestris
Mearns's pouched mouse, Saccostomus mearnsi
Sources
Jansa, S.A.; Weksler, M. "Phylogeny of muroid rodents: Relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP gene sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31: 256–276.
Kingdon, J. (1997). The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. London, UK: Academic Press Limited.
Steppan, S.J.; Adkins, R.A.; Anderson, J. (2004). "Phylogeny and divergence date estimates of rapid radiations in muroid rodents based on multiple nuclear genes". Systematic Biology. 53: 533–553.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
