''Psammomys'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...
s in the family
Muridae
The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
...
.
The etymology of the genus name derives from the two
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
words (), meaning "sand", and (), meaning "mouse, rat".
The complete nuclear DNA genome of one ''Psamomys'' species, ''P. obesus'', has been sequenced in 2017.
It contains the following species:
*
Fat sand rat, ''Psammomys obesus''
*
Thin sand rat, ''Psammomys vexillaris''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q64524
Rodent genera
Taxa named by Philipp Jakob Cretzschmar
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot