rodent

Introduction
General features
Importance to humans
Natural history
Form and function
Evolution and classification

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

A grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) sits upright on green grass, holding its front paws near its chest with its bushy tail curled behind.

A muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) with brown fur sits in shallow water near a grassy riverbank, holding food in its front paws as the sun sets.

At a Glance

rodent summary

Quizzes

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

Ultimate Animals Quiz

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Deadliest Animals Quiz

Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

Related Questions

How are laboratory rats and fancy rats different from wild brown rats?
How are rodents used in biomedical and genetic research?
How can rodents damage buildings and water-impounding structures?
How can rodents damage crops and stored food?
How did agriculture create food and shelter for rodents that live near people?
How do a rodent’s jaw muscles help it gnaw and chew food?
How do brown rats affect native birds, reptiles, and small mammals on oceanic islands?
How do flying squirrels and anomalures glide between trees?
How do rodent incisors differ from the teeth of most other mammals?
How do rodents’ continuously growing incisors stay sharp?
How large was the extinct rodent Josephoartigasia monesi?
How many litters can a house mouse produce in a year?
How small is Delany’s swamp mouse?
What body features help tree squirrels climb trunks and branches?
What evidence do scientists use to classify rodent families and suborders?
What features help blind mole rats and other burrowing rodents dig tunnels?
What kinds of food do rodents eat?
What kinds of shelters do rodents use?
When do the earliest known rodent fossils date from?
Where did the earliest known rodent fossils occur?
Which diseases can be spread by rodents or the parasites they carry?
Which land areas have no native rodent species?
Which rodents are specialized predators rather than plant eaters?
Which rodents have been used as food, fur sources, pets, or laboratory animals?
Which rodents store food in burrows?
Why are dormice placed differently in some rodent classification systems?
Why are only a few rodent species considered serious pests or disease carriers?
Why do rodent classifications sometimes change?
Why do rodents have a gap called a diastema between their incisors and cheek teeth?
Why do scientists think rodents originated in Eurasia despite early fossils found in North America?
Why do some rodents have long hind legs and long tails?
Why do some rodents hibernate while others remain active all year?
Why do the enamel and dentine in rodent incisors wear at different rates?
Why is the capybara considered the largest living rodent?
What is the main characteristics that define vertebrates?
How are vertebrates classified in terms of their morphology?
How do amphibians differ from reptiles in terms of reproduction?
How are mammals distinct from other animals?
Why is the platypus a mammal?
What are the basic functional systems of animals?

Science Mammals Rodents, Rabbits, Insectivores & Shrews

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External Websites

AZ Animals - Rodent
Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems - Pest Control: Rodents
Animal Diversity Web - Rodentia
University of California Museum of Paleontology - Introduction to the Rodentia
Michigan State University - College of Agriculture and Natural Resources - Rodents

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

rodent - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
rodent - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

rodent

mammal

Also known as: Rodentia

Written by

Guy Musser

Archbold Curator Emeritus Vertebrate Zoology and Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, U.S.

Guy Musser

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 10, 2026 •History

rodent, (order Rodentia), any of more than 2,050 living species of mammals characterized by upper and lower pairs of ever-growing rootless incisor teeth. Rodents are the largest group of mammals, constituting almost half the class Mammalia’s approximately 4,660 species. They are indigenous to every land area except Antarctica, New Zealand, and a few Arctic and other oceanic islands, although some species have been introduced even to those places through their association with humans. This huge...

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