''Baiomys'', the New World pygmy mice, 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 rodents in the family
Cricetidae
The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice. At over 870 species, it is either the largest or second-largest family ...
. Together with ''
Scotinomys'', it forms the tribe
Baiomyini. It contains the smallest
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
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
.
It currently contains three
extant
Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to:
* Extant hereditary titles
* Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English
* Exta ...
species:
*Southern pygmy mouse, ''
Baiomys brunneus''
*Mexican pygmy mouse, ''
Baiomys musculus''
*Northern pygmy mouse, ''
Baiomys taylori''
Additionally, there are seven known
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
species:
*''Baiomys aquilonius''
Zakrzewski, 1969
*''Baiomys brachygnathus''
( Gidley, 1922)
*''Baiomys intermedius''
Packard & T. Alvarez, 1965
*''Baiomys kolbi''
Hibbard, 1952
*''Baiomys minimus''
(Gidley, 1922)
*''Baiomys rexroadi''
Hibbard, 1941
*''Baiomys sawrockensis''
Hibbard, 1953
References
*Amman, B R., R. D. Bradley. 2003. Molecular evolution in ''Baiomys'' (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae): Evidence for a genetic subdivision in ''B. musculus''. Journal of Mammalogy 85:162-166.
*Integrated Taxonomic Information Syste
Retrieved 3 April 2007.
Baiomys,
Rodent genera
Taxa named by Frederick W. True
{{Cricetidae-stub