Family MURIDAE

(TRUE MICE AND RATS, GERBILS AND RELATIVES)

• Small to medium-sized rodents with mouse-shaped skulls; squirrel-shaped mandibles; and mostly long, naked tails equal to or longer than head-body lengths.

• 7-75 cm.

• Worldwide, except Antarctica.

• All terrestrial and some aquatic habitats.

• 155 genera, 816 species, at least 916 extant taxa.

• 15 species Critically Endangered, 52 species Endangered, 60 species Vulnerable; 14 species Extinct since 1600.

Systematics

Origins of the family Muridae are controversial due to the recent changes in muroid classification of the superfamily Muroidea and the naming of the family Nesomyidae. Many molecular studies show that Muridae is one of the youngest lineages in Muroidea. It is generally claimed that the origins of Muridae can be traced back to the beginning of the Miocene, 18-20 million years ago, in Africa and Asia when both continents were isolated and some extinct taxa like Myocricetodontinae represented the ancestors of extant murids. There is general consensus that most of the African muroid radiation started with Potwarmus, whose first occurrence was 18-19 million years ago in the Siwalik Hills (Pakistan) and 15-18 million years ago in Jebel Zelten (Libya). Potwarmus is considered the ancestor of Nesomyidae and Muridae clades that diverged 12-14 million years ago. By that time, Antemus, another widespread fossil from 12-6-16-2 million years ago in Pakistan, had a murid dental pattern, suggesting it was an ancestor of Muridae. Antemus chinjiensis occurred 13-8-15-5 million years ago and was replaced by Progonomys, which appeared 10-5-12-1 million years ago in North Africa, Western Europe, and Pakistan. C. Denys

The Crete Spiny Mouse is one of 21 species in the genus Acomys that arefound in Africa, the Middle East, and on Mediterranean islands. In turn, the spiny mice belongs to the subfamily Deomyinae, most members of which are characterized by a thin, more or less spiny skin. Spiny mice can shed their tails whenattacked, and regrow them. It has been proposed that the three Mediterranean taxa, the Crete, Cyprus (A. nesiotes), and Turkish (A. cilicicus) spiny mice, are all subspecies of the Northeast African Spiny Mouse (A. cahirinus), which has spread widely with human colonization. All, however, are geographically isolated, show clear morphological differences, and are recognized here as full species.