Cricetidae, Fischer, 1817

James H. Honacki, Kenneth E. Kinman & James W. Koeppl, 1982, Order Rodentia (Part 3), Mammal Species of the World (1 st Edition), Lawrence, Kansas, USA: Alien Press, Inc. & The Association of Systematics Collections, pp. 392-476 : 392

Family Cricetidae

REVIEWED BY: J. H. Honacki (JH).

COMMENT: Assignment of this family, separate from the Muridae and Arvicolidae , follows Chaline and Mein, 1979, and Reig, 1980, J. Zool. Lond., 192:257-281. For review of the taxonomic treatments of this family see Swanepoel et al., 1980, Ann. Transvaal Mus., 32(7): 155-196, Arata, 1967, in Anderson and Jones, pp. 226-232, and Carleton, 1980:1-146. Inclusion of the Dendromurinae , Cricetomyinae , Gerbillinae , Nesomyinae , Petromyscinae, and Otomyinae in Cricetidae follows Misonne, 1974, Part 6:9; Chaline and Mein, 1979, considered these taxa as distinct families except Otomyinae , which they placed in Nesomyidae , and Petromyscinae, which they placed in Dendromuridae; they also included Myospalacinae (as is done here) and Spalacinae (here considered a separate family) in Cricetidae . Arata, 1967, in Anderson and Jones, pp. 241-242, included Dendromurinae and Otomyinae in Muridae , subfamily Murinae . Reig, 1980, J. Zool. Lond., 192:258-260, recognized, as families, Gerbillidae, Lophiomyidae , and Myospalacidae (here included in Cricetidae , as subfamilies, as in Corbet, 1978:93), and Nesomyinae , Dendromurinae , Cricetomyinae , Petromyscinae, Cricetinae , Neotominae, Sigmodontinae, and Platacanthomyinae , as subfamilies of Cricetidae . Carleton, 1980, considered recognition of two separate subfamilies (Sigmodontinae and Neotominae or Peromyscinae) of New World cricetines premature; thus, the subfamily Hesperomyinae is used here (see Reig, 1980, for a discussion of the validity of the name). Chaline et al., 1977, Mammalia, 41:245-252, and Chaline and Mein, 1979, incorporated recent fossil evidence in their classification; their recognition of the major phyletic units of Muroid rodents as families (see above) “may anticipate a future trend" ( Carleton, 1980:2-7). The treatment adopted here is not completely consistent with either Chaline and Mein, 1979, or Reig, 1980 (R.S. Hoffmann, JH).

ISIS NUMBER: 5301410008000000000 as Cricetidae .

5301410013000000000 as Platacanthomyidae .