A Revised Classification of the Rodents

Of all the orders of mammals, the rodents are the most inadequately understood taxonomically. Almost everyone who has worked with the rodents is in agreement that the current classification is inadequate. But, at least partly because of the large number of different forms belonging to this order, there is no general agreement as to what is wrong with the present arrangement or what should be done to improve it. The present author has been thinking about this problem for a considerable period, and had hoped to be able to present a consistent revision of the subordinal classification, with adequate documentation. However, it seems apparent that it will be a long time, if ever, before anyone will have been able to acquire a first-hand knowledge of all of the members of this order, and therefore the suggested arrangement in this paper is merely presented as a basis for further discussion by others who are interested in this order, in hopes that this will contribute to a better understanding of the problems of rodent taxonomy and a closer approach to a realistic classification.