Rodent | 台北市立動物園資訊網

RodentsaremammalsoftheorderRodentiawhicharecharacterizedbyasinglepairofcontinuouslygrowingincisorsineachoftheupperandlowerjaws.

Order of mammals

Rodents (from Latin rodere, to gnaw) are mammals of the order Rodentia ( roh-DEN-shə), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are native to all major land masses except for Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity.

Rodents are extremely diverse in their ecology and lifestyles and can be found in almost every terrestrial habitat, including human-made environments. Species can be arboreal, fossorial (burrowing), saltatorial/ricochetal (leaping on their hind legs), or semiaquatic. However, all rodents share several morphological features, including having only a single upper and lower pair of ever-growing incisors. Well-known rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Rabbits, hares, an...