Rodents are mammals of the order Rodentia, 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 New Zealand, Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity.
Image: Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)
Image: Springharelg
Image: Goldmantelziesel
Image: American Beaver
A mammal is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia. Mammals are characterized by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, from which their ancestors diverged in the Carboniferous Period over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have been described and divided into 29 orders.
Restoration of Juramaia sinensis, the oldest-known Eutherian (160 mya)
Fossil of Thrinaxodon at the National Museum of Natural History
Hyaenodon horridus, a North American species of hypercarnivore within the now-extinct order Hyaenodonta, at the Royal Ontario Museum. The genus Hyaenodon was amongst the most successful mammals of the late Eocene-early Miocene epochs spanning for most of the Paleogene and some of the Neogene periods, undergoing many endemic radiations in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Sexual dimorphism in aurochs, the extinct wild ancestor of cattle
