rodent

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

black-tailed prairie dog

Eastern gray squirrel

Eurasian red squirrel

Reviving the Eurasian beaver population

Muskrats look like a cross between a rat and a beaver. They live in water, where they build homes of mud and plants that rise above the water's surface.

For Students

black-tailed prairie dog

Read Next

animal. Amphibian. Frog. Anura. Ranidae. Frog in grass.

Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World

Collage of different cats. Made for the cat quiz on Mendel

16 Questions About Pets Answered

Flying bat

Are Bats Rodents?

Spider monkey swinging in a tree. (primate, jungle animal)

Why Do Animals Have Tails?

cat. orange and white persian cat with long hair, snarl, growl, teeth

7 Questions About Mammals Answered

Discover

Hemp (Cannabis sativa).

9 Mind-Altering Plants

Statue of Liberty in front of the skyline of Manhattan, New York City, New York.

Who Was the Woman Behind the Statue of Liberty?

Ruminant. Deer. Red deer. Cervus elaphus. Buck. Stag. Antlers.

9 of the World’s Deadliest Mammals

Bar graph of the United States Death Toll during major events. Infogram chart.

U.S. Death Toll During Major Events

Calendar showing the month of February

Why Are There Only 28 Days in February?

Space race (1957-1969) infographic between United States (U.S.) and Russia. America, Soviet Union, U.S.S.R., space exploration

Timeline of the Space Race, 1957–69

Hindu Holi Festival celebrations with colored water, powder and colorful flower petals thrown over celebrants at a Hindu temple in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India on March 24, 2021.

Holi: Festival of Colors

rodent: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Japan’s national monument, an endangered rat, to be shown at Tokyo’s Inokashira Park Zoo • Mar. 5, 2025, 10:24 PM ET (Straits Times)

N.L. youth centre grappling with crumbling infrastructure, rodents and mould, documents reveal • Feb. 20, 2025, 5:20 AM ET (CBC)

Facts

Also Known As	Rodentia

Photos and Videos

black-tailed prairie dog

Eastern gray squirrel

Eurasian red squirrel

Muskrats look like a cross between a rat and a beaver. They live in water, where they build homes of mud and plants that rise above the water's surface.

Reviving the Eurasian beaver population

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

porcupine Anomaluromorpha Myomorpha Sciuravida rat Hystricognatha Sciuromorpha rat mouse squirrel primate artiodactyl perissodactyl cetacean bat carnivore insectivore pangolin sirenian lagomorph

Key People

Charles Elton

English biologist

Quiz

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

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.

Animal Factoids

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest 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

Nine-Banded Armadillo.

A Is for Animal Quiz

Giraffe standing in grass, Kenya.

Know Your Mammals Quiz

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

Ultimate Animals Quiz

List

Collage of different cats. Made for the cat quiz on Mendel

16 Questions About Pets Answered

animal. Amphibian. Frog. Anura. Ranidae. Frog in grass.

Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World

cat. orange and white persian cat with long hair, snarl, growl, teeth

7 Questions About Mammals Answered

Demystified

Flying bat

Are Bats Rodents?