What are the features of rodents? Name the largest rodent. What does term Lagomorphs stands for?

          Rodents include mice, rats and squirrels, as well as beavers and porcupines. They are a very large group of mammals that live almost everywhere in the world, from the freezing Arctic to the hottest deserts. They are so successful because they can adapt easily to new environments, survive on many different kinds of food and breed very quickly.

          Unfortunately, rodents often come into close contact with humans, and can become pests. They eat and contaminate vast quantities of crops, stored grain and household food, and also spread diseases.

          Rodents are usually small animals, with short legs and a tail that may be either long or barely visible. They are intelligent, and have keen senses of smell and hearing. They also use their sensitive whiskers to find out about their surroundings. All rodents have a set of grinding teeth and two pairs of large, sharp front teeth for gnawing.

          Rodents feed mainly on plant material including nuts, seeds, fruits, leaves, bark and wood. Their front gnawing teeth keep growing all the time to avoid getting worn down by such a tough diet.

          Most kinds of rodents live in groups, from small families of beavers to large colonies of ground squirrels or prairie dogs. Many live underground, but others, such as tree squirrels and flying squirrels, nest in trees. Harvest mice weave tiny grass nests between tall reeds or stems. Like some monkeys, they have prehensile tails that can grasp the sterns.

          The lifespan of the smaller rodents is short, often only one or two years in the wild. However, they breed from a very early age and can have many young at once.

 

 

 

          As well as rats, mice and squirrels, the rodent group contains voles, cavies (also known as guinea pigs) and larger animals such as porcupines, capybaras and coypus.

          Porcupines of the Americas live mostly in trees, while those of Africa and Asia are ground-dwellers. However, they both possess a set of sharp spines and hollow quills. If threatened, the porcupine will run backwards into its attacker, leaving several quills embedded in its attacker’s skin.

          Capybaras, the largest rodents, and their relatives, the coypus, are very good swimmers. Coypus feed in the water, while capybaras leap in to escape from predators.

 

 

 

         The word lagomorph means “hare-shaped”. The group includes rabbits, hares and pikas. All lagomorphs have long soft fur all over their body, even on their feet. They feed mainly on grasses, but also eat leaves, bark, seeds and roots.

          Lagomorphs are prey to many animals, so they have large ears to listen for danger and eyes on either side of their head, allowing them to see a wide area around them. Rabbits dig burrows where they sleep and give birth. They are also a place to escape from predators. Some pikas also live in burrows, while others shelter in crevices between rocks. Hares and their young rest in small areas of flattened grass called forms. To escape from predators, hares use their long, strong legs which can carry them at speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour.

          Like rodents, lagomorphs can breed very quickly and have many young at once. This means that where there are not enough predators, they can become pests.

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