The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Rodents: part one

And that completes the Hystricomorpha. A couple of the families within this Suborder were well-represented (notably Old World porcupines, and agoutis) but overall the numbers of species were very low. Of about 300 species total, only about 75 have photos in the galleries (about 25%). A large part of this was due to the tuco-tucos (c.65 species, with only three species depicted) and the spiny rats (c.90 species, with only three species depicted), two families which are basically never kept in zoos and of which it is difficult to obtain wild photos. However, seventeen of the eighteen families within the Suborder have representative species depicted here which is a very good ratio.


For some broad comparisons, Sciuromorpha has 157 species depicted out of c.330 species total (c.46%); Anomaluromorpha has four species depicted out of nine species total (c.44%); and Castorimorpha has sixteen species depicted out of about 100 species total (16%).


That is now the completion of Part One of the Zoochat Photographic Guide to Rodents. Below I will post the full list of Suborders and families within the thread, with the numbers of genera and species in each (and how many of each are represented in the thread). Part Two will cover the Suborder Myomorpha (rats and mice), of which there are around 1500 species.



Suborder SCIUROMORPHA
(c.330 spp in 70 genera, of which 157 spp from 47 genera are depicted here)

Family Aplodontiidae - Sewellel or Mountain Beaver (1 sp - depicted as a museum specimen)
Family Sciuridae - Squirrels (c.300 spp in 60 genera - 148 spp from 40 genera are depicted)
Family Gliridae - Dormice (c.30 spp in 9 genera - 8 spp from 6 genera are depicted)


Suborder ANOMALUROMORPHA
(9 spp in 4 genera, of which four species from two genera are depicted here)

Family Anomaluridae - Anomalures or Scaly-tailed Squirrels (7 spp in 3 genera - two species from one genus are depicted)
Family Pedetidae - Springhares (2 spp in one genus - both species are depicted)


Suborder CASTORIMORPHA
(c.100 spp in 12 genera, of which 16 spp from 6 genera are depicted here)

Family Castoridae - Beavers (2 spp in 1 genus - both species are depicted)
Family Geomyidae - Pocket Gophers (c.35-40 spp in 6 genera - only 4 spp from 2 genera are depicted)
Family Heteromyidae - Kangaroo Rats and Kangaroo Mice (c.60 spp in 5 genera - only 10 spp from 3 genera are depicted)


Suborder HYSTRICOMORPHA
(c.300 spp in 72 genera, of which only 73-75 spp from 35 genera are depicted here)

Family Diatomyidae / Laonastidae - Laotian Rock Rat (1 sp - not depicted)
Family Ctenodactylidae - Gundis (5 spp in 4 genera - two species from two genera are depicted)
Family Bathyergidae - Blesmols or African Mole Rats (c.25 spp in 6 genera - 8 spp from 4 genera are depicted)
Family Hystricidae - Old World Porcupines (11 spp in 3 genera - 10 spp from 2 genera are depicted)
Family Petromuridae - Dassie Rat (1 sp - depicted)
Family Thryonomyidae - Cane Rats (2 spp in 1 genus - one species is depicted)
Family Erethizontidae - New World Porcupines (c.17 spp in 3 genera - 12 spp from all 3 genera are depicted)
Family Chinchillidae - Chinchillas and Viscachas (7 spp in 3 genera - 4 spp from all 3 genera are depicted)
Family Dinomyidae - Pacarana (1 sp - depicted)
Family Caviidae - Cavies (c.20 spp in 6 genera - 11 or 12 spp from all 6 genera are depicted)
Family Dasyproctidae - Agoutis (c.13 spp in 2 genera - 8 or 9 spp from both genera are depicted)
Family Cuniculidae - Pacas (2 spp in 1 genus - both are depicted)
Family Ctenomyidae - Tuco-tucos (c.65 spp in 1 genus - 3 spp are depicted)
Family Octodontidae - Octodonts (14 spp in 8 genera - 2 spp from 2 genera are depicted)
Family Abrocomidae - Chinchilla Rats (c.10 spp in 2 genera - one species is depicted)
Family Echimyidae - New World Spiny Rats (c.90 spp in 21 genera - 4 spp from 3 genera are depicted)
Family Myocastoridae - Coypu (1 sp - depicted)
Family Capromyidae - Hutias (c.13 spp in 5 genera - 2 spp in 2 genera are depicted)
 
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Chlidonias said:
Tamias
One species

Taxonomic note: the genera Eutamias (1 sp) and Neotamias (23 spp) were formerly treated as subgenera of Tamias.


Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus
Eleven subspecies: doorsiensis, fisheri, griseus, lysteri, ohioensis, peninsulae, pipilans, quebecensis, rufescens, striatus, venustus


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, Washington DC (USA) (subspecies fisheri)

full

eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) | ZooChat


Photo by @Ituri in the wild, Minnesota (USA) (subspecies griseus)

full

Eastern Chipmunk | ZooChat


Photo by @Meaghan Edwards in the wild, Canada (subspecies lysteri)

full

Chipmunk | ZooChat
Click to expand...

Do you know the distribution of these subspecies?

I tried finding them online and the closest I got was this link that shows a numbered map, but only applies lysteri and fisheri to it.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Do you know the distribution of these subspecies?

I tried finding them online and the closest I got was this link that shows a numbered map, but only applies lysteri and fisheri to it.
Click to expand...
The page for this species on Mammalian Species has a map, but unfortunately it is no longer freely available online as far as I could see.

Only the first page can be viewed (here: Tamias striatus) and that lists the subspecies with type location which might help. You can register to purchase the full copy.

The map itself does show up on Google Images (you have to scroll down quite a few lines) but it is only small, doesn't show the key for the numbers (because it is just the map image), and it links directly back to the above link for the first page of the paper. However you might be able to work out the numbers from the type locations.
 
In addition to the Gunnison's Prairie Dog Cynomys gunnisoni mentioned in the post above, @Giant Eland has also uploaded photos of two more species new to the thread, Hopi Chipmunk Neotamias rufus and Spotted Ground Squirrel Xerospermophilus spilosoma, as well as photos of living Abert's Squirrel Sciurus aberti (previously only represented in the thread by taxidermy specimens).

All these photos can be seen in the USA Wildlife gallery: United States - Wildlife - ZooChat

Links within this thread:

Cynomys (post #119): The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Rodents: part one

Neotamias (post #126): The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Rodents: part one

Xerospermophilus (post #137): The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Rodents: part one

Sciurus (post #17): The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Rodents: part one
 
The second and final thread for Rodentia has been completed (see here: The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Rodents: part two) and so I have gone through and counted up all the photo credits for both threads.

In this thread (part one) there are c.740 species, of which 250-252 species are depicted. There is currently a total of 452 photos in the thread, from 93 Zoochat members.

[I will keep this list updated as photos are added/removed/changed. Last updated 29 October 2025]


One photo:
@amur leopard
@Anteaterman
@Arek
@AWP
@Azubaa
@bongorob
@branta68
@Bwassa
@carl the birder
@ChunkyMunky pengopus
@Coelacanth18
@David Matos Mendes
@Deer Forest2
@Dr. Wolverine
@Elephantlover
@EternalPigeon
@Fallax
@fofo
@Ggrarl
@Javan Rhino
@jbnbsn99
@Jordan-Jaguar97
@Juancho
@Malayan Tapir
@mhale
@Mo Hassan
@Neil chace
@Nick@Amsterdam
@Orycteropus
@pangolin12
@Parrotsandrew
@Patzookeep
@PossumRoach
@ralph
@RatioTile
@Rizz Carlton
@robreintjes
@Semioptera
@snowleopard
@Sun Bear
@TeaLovingDave
@Tim May
@UngulateNerd92
@woolyrat
@Zaz
@zoogiraffe
@Zooish

Two photos:
@baboon
@birdsandbats
@carlos55
@DesertTortoise
@Ding Lingwei
@Great Argus
@HOMIN96
@Joker1706
@Kakapo
@KevinB
@lintworm
@nikola
@Patrick87
@red river hog
@savethelephant
@Therabu
@toto98
@Yassa
@zoo_sipsik

Fewer than ten photos:
@Daniel Sörensen (three photos)
@J I N X (three photos)
@MagpieGoose (three photos)
@Toki (three photos)
@Goura (four photos)
@Jakub (four photos)
@Najade (four photos)
@ronnienl (four photos)
@Vision (four photos)
@Newzooboy (five photos)
@ro6ca66 (five photos)
@Sicarius (five photos)
@alexkant (six photos)
@Arizona Docent (six photos)
@Deer Forest (six photos)
@gentle lemur (six photos)
@Pleistohorse (six photos)
@Hix (nine photos)
@Tomek (nine photos)
@vogelcommando (nine photos)

Ten or more photos:
@ThylacineAlive (ten photos)
@devilfish (twelve photos)
@Maguari (sixteen photos)
@LaughingDove (twenty photos)
@Ituri (twenty-eight photos)
@Chlidonias (fifty-three photos)
@Giant Eland (122 photos)
 
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This is very impressive

The following species have photos in Zootierliste, which are missing in this document:

Kangaroo rats
San Joaquin kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides)

Old World porcupines
Long-tailed porcupine (Trichys fasciculate)

Cane rats
Greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus)

African mole-rats
Mashona mole-rat (Fukomys darlingi)
Common mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus)

New World porcupines
Bicolor-spined porcupine (Coendou bicolor)

Cavies
Spix’s yellow-toothed cavy (Galea spixii)

Agoutis
Roatan Island agouti (Dasyprocta ruatanica)

Chinchillas
Short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla)

Tuco-tucos
Magellanic tuco-tuco (Ctenomys magelannicus)

Octodonts
Coastal degu (Octodon lunatus)

Spiny rats
Atlantic bamboo rat (Kannabateomys amblyonyx)
Guyene spiny rat (Proechimys guyannensis)

Hutias
Jamaican hutia (Geocapromys browni)

Dormice
Lorraine’s African dormouse (Graphiurus lorraineus)
Nagtglas’s African dormouse (G. nagtglasii)

Squirrels (Family Sciuridae)
Black-capped marmot (Marmota camtschatika)
Grey m (M baibacina)
Daurian ground squirrel (Spermophilus dauricus)
Yellow ground squirrel (S fulvus)
Little ground squirrel (S pygmaeus)
Russian ground squirrel (S major)
Peters’s squirrel (Sciurus oculatus)
Western grey squirrel (S. griseus)
Three-striped ground squirrel (Lariscus insignis)
Red-cheeked rope s (Funisciurus leucogenys)
Congo rope squirrel (F. Congicus)
Cooper’s mountain s (Paraxerus cooperi)
Cape ground squirrel (Geosciurus inauris)
 
Dassie rat said:
The following species have photos in Zootierliste, which are missing in this document:
Click to expand...
I'm not entirely sure how that's relevant - these photographic threads are showing the diversity in the Zoochat galleries, not photos on other websites. That said, I wouldn't trust the photos used on Zootierliste as being completely accurate. I often see mislabelled species on there, and even on your short list a very quick look through some of them shows that the "Coendou bicolor" pictured on Zootierliste is actually C. prehensilis.
 
Chlidonias said:
I'm not entirely sure how that's relevant - these photographic threads are showing the diversity in the Zoochat galleries, not photos on other websites. That said, I wouldn't trust the photos used on Zootierliste as being completely accurate. I often see mislabelled species on there, and even on your short list a very quick look through some of them shows that the "Coendou bicolor" pictured on Zootierliste is actually C. prehensilis.
Click to expand...


Oops, that would be my work. Damn signage at Wildlife World Zoo! (was listed on ISIS/Zims back then as well) Just fixed it! Thanks for pointing that out!
 
Chlidonias said:
I'm not entirely sure how that's relevant - these photographic threads are showing the diversity in the Zoochat galleries, not photos on other websites.
Click to expand...

The one (slight) advantage to checking ZTL is that if one recognises the name of a given photographer and knows they are an active Zoochatter you can give them a prod to upload the relevant images to the gallery ;) or in the case of Alexkant, get permission to do it for them.

There's a few juicy species we lack shots of which are illustrated on ZTL by former zoochatters, frustratingly :p in some cases using shots I recognise from pre-Purge days.
 
Thanks, TLD. I spent a lot of time comparing the data on each site. This site has photos of many species not on ZTL. I can provide a list of myomorph photos that are on ZTL but not on Chlidonias's extensive and well-researched site.
 
I may have one or two of the missing chipmunk species, I'll have to look.

I do have photos of California Ground Squirrel and American Red Squirrel that could be additional subspecies not currently represented, although I don't know.
Ground squirrel locale is Shasta County, California
Red Squirrel would be whatever subspecies was introduced to the island of Newfoundland, Canada.

If either would be helpful I can upload them.
 
Great Argus said:
I may have one or two of the missing chipmunk species, I'll have to look.

I do have photos of California Ground Squirrel and American Red Squirrel that could be additional subspecies not currently represented, although I don't know.
Ground squirrel locale is Shasta County, California
Red Squirrel would be whatever subspecies was introduced to the island of Newfoundland, Canada.

If either would be helpful I can upload them.
Click to expand...
The California Ground Squirrel subspecies in Shasta County should be fischeri, which is already represented by a photo (have a look to see if your one is better though).

According to John Long's Introduced Mammals of the World, the American Red Squirrel introduced to Newfoundland is the subspecies ungavensis from Labrador, which is not yet pictured in the galleries.
 
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