Beaver relatives

Beaver relatives
	Canadian beaver ( Castor canadensis )
Systematics
Class :	Mammals (mammalia)
Subclass :	Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Superordinate :	Euarchontoglires
without rank:	Glires
Order :	Rodents (Rodentia)
Subordination :	Beaver relatives
Scientific name
	Castorimorpha
	AE Wood , 1955
Familys
	Beaver (Castoridae); Pocket rats (Geomyidae); Pocket mice (Heteromyidae);

The beaver relatives (Castorimorpha) are a subordination of the rodents (Rodentia). This group includes three families with around 100 species, all of which, with the exception of the European beaver, live in North or Central America :

the beavers (Castoridae),
the pocket rats (Geomyidae) and
the pocket mice (Heteromyidae).

This newly compiled subordination was defined by Carleton and Musser (2005), who redefined the subordination of rodents according to morphological and molecular genetic aspects.

While a close relationship between pocket rats and pocket mice has long been assumed - both groups are grouped together as pocket rodents (Geomyoidea) - the assignment to beavers is relatively new. While the pocket rodents were previously placed in the group of mouse relatives (Myomoprha), the beavers were placed in the group of squirrel relatives (Sciuromorpha). It has long been known that the squirrel relatives represent a paraphyletic group (i.e. not all descendants of a common ancestor), and this new classification tries to take this into account.

The extinct Eomyidae , of which the gliding species Eomys quercyi is best known, are included in this group.

literature

Michael D. Carleton, Guy G. Musser: Order Rodentia. In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. Volume 2. 3rd edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 , pp. 745-1600.