rodent

{‘Rodents’ are a large group in mammals (about 40%). The chief characteristic of rodents is that they all have incisors (sharp front teeth) in their upper and lower jaws that grow continuously throughout their life.  In order to keep those teeth from growing too long, the rodents ‘gnaw’ things – their food or some wood or anything that can be chewed!}

a kind of animal – mammal – four-legged – herbivorous (= grass or plant eating), carnivorous (= meat eating) or omnivorous (= eating both plant matter and meat) – small with brown or grey or mixed-coloured, short thick fur (hair), cone-shaped head with short or long, or pointed or blunt snout (= mouth and nose part), short or medium-sized legs with claws on toes, short or long, or bushy or hair-less tail, burrow-making (= living in holes under the ground), ground-dwelling or arboreal (= living in trees), or aquatic or semi-aquatic (= living in or near water); size: (varies widely) the smallest being the ‘African pygmy mouse (or pygmy jerboa)’ — 2½ inch long and weight: 7 grams and the largest being the ‘capybara’ — 2½-3 feet tall, 4 feet long, and weight: about 75 Kg; feeds on (eats) plant matter – (all species) seeds, grain, fruit, (some species) insects, worms, other small animals, such as lizards, spiders, eggs, (yet some other) fish, birds and bird eggs; lives for, from about 2-3 years to 4-8 years; many species (some authorities put the number at 1500, some others 2000, yet some others 2,275), whatever be the number, rodents are numerous, and found on every continent, except, of course, Antarctica

The common rodents are: mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, porcupine, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, pacas, coypu, lemmings, chinchillas, prairie dogs, ground hogs, beaver, dormouse, kangaroo rats, (cavis), jerboas, marmots, muskrats, woodchucks, voles, capybara, etc.

{Some animals look like (resemble) rodents but are not rodents! Some of them are: moles, shrews, hedgehogs, hares, rabbits, pikes, weasels, mink, etc.}

Special Features:

The name (rodents) ‘rodentia’ is derived from the Latin word “rodere” which, in English, means “to gnaw”.

Rodents have been associated with people for a very long time.

Rodents have been hunted by people and other animals for their meat.  There are some animals which depend entirely on rodents!

Rodents have also been hunted by people for their fur! They have been kept as pets!

Rodents have also been used in scientific research and laboratory experiments!!

Rodents are useful in some ways and harmful in some other ways: useful because they eat away the insects which are pests; harmful because they eat away the crops and damage/spoil the stored grain more than they actually eat! In addition, they carry disease causing organisms, and spread diseases not only in humans but also in domestic animals!

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