Wildlife
The Old World rat and mice family has more species in it than any other mammal family. It includes all the British species of mice and rats, plus gerbils, spiny mice and Australian native mice.
Scientific name: Muridae
Rank: Family
The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
Wood mouse (species)
Woolly rats
Harvest mouse (species)
Brants's whistling rat (species)
California mouse (species)
Brown rat (species)Discover the other animals and plants that lived during the following geological time periods.
The Muridae are the largest family of mammals, containing over 700 species found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. They have been introduced worldwide. The group includes true mice and rats, gerbils, and relatives.
The family name Muridae is sometimes used in a broader sense to include all members of the superfamily Muroidea. The name comes from the Latin mus (genitive muris), meaning "mouse".
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Eocene epoch
Oligocene epoch
Miocene epoch
Pliocene epoch
Pleistocene epoch
Holocene epoch