United States
£ GBP
Language: English
Out of 29 families of rodents found in the world, four families (Sciuridae, Muridae, Dipodidae, and Hystricidae) occur in India. The family Muridae, which is by far the largest family, is represented in India by 28 genera and 68 species; the family Sciuridae by 12 genera and 29 species; the family Dipodidae by one genus and one species; and the family Hystricidae by two genera and three species. The family Dipodidae is mainly a Palearctic one and spilled over in India in Jammu and Kashmir only. The present study covers the families Muridae and Hystricidae.
The present work is an attempt to update the information available on the taxonomy and distribution of murid and hystricid rodents from the Indian union after the publication of Ellerman's Fauna of India: Rodentia. The recorded distribution is based on published literature, collections present in the Zoological Survey of India as well as those identified by its scientists for other institutions. The subspecies have been revised, wherever possible, by statistical analysis of various morphological characters.
