parent_taxon zygodontomys
The ___MASK58___ are a large superfamily of rodents , including mice , rats , voles , hamsters , gerbils , and many other relatives . They occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent except Antarctica . Some authorities have placed all members of this group into a single family , ___MASK15___ , due to difficulties in determining how the subfamilies are related to one another . The following taxonomy is based on recent well - supported molecular phylogenies . A habitat is an ecological or environmental ___MASK77___ that is inhabited by a particular species of animal , ___MASK36___ , or other type of organism . The term typically refers to the zone in which the organism lives and where it can find food , shelter , protection and mates for reproduction . It is the natural environment in which an organism lives , or the physical environment that surrounds a species population . The New World rats and mice are a group of related rodents found in North and South America . They are extremely diverse in appearance and ecology , ranging in from the tiny " ___MASK76___ " to the large " ___MASK39___ ". They represent one of the few examples of muroid rodents ( along with the voles ) in North America , and the only example of muroid rodents to have made it into South America . Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever ( VHF ) is a zoonotic ___MASK87___ illness first identified in 1989 . The disease is most prevalent in several rural ___MASK86___ of central Venezuela and is caused by the Guanarito ___MASK74___ ( GTOV ) which belongs to the Arenaviridae family . The short - tailed cane mouse (" Zygodontomys brevicauda ") is the main host for GTOV which is spread mostly by inhalation of aerosolized droplets of saliva , respiratory secretions , urine , or blood from infected rodents . Person - to - person spread is possible , but uncommon . Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in both South America and Latin America . As the world ' s fifth - largest country by both ___MASK77___ and population , it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas . Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east , Brazil has a coastline of . It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile and covers 47 . 3 % of the continent ' s land ___MASK77___ . Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest , home to diverse wildlife , a variety of ecological systems , and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats . This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries , and is the subject of significant global interest and debate regarding deforestation and environmental protection . ___MASK32___ brevicauda , also known as the short - tailed zygodont , short - tailed cane mouse , or common cane mouse , is a species of rodent in the genus " ___MASK32___ " of tribe ___MASK84___ . It occurs from Costa Rica via Panama , Colombia and Venezuela into Guyana , Suriname , French Guiana and northern Brazil , including Trinidad and Tobago . It includes three subspecies : " ___MASK32___ brevicauda brevicauda ", " ___MASK32___ brevicauda cherriei ", and " ___MASK32___ brevicauda microtinus ". Many " ___MASK32___ brevicauda " serve as viral reservoirs , causing illnesses such as Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever . Costa Rica ( literally meaning " Rich Coast "), officially the Republic of Costa Rica , is a country in Central America , bordered by Nicaragua to the north , Panama to the southeast , the Pacific Ocean to the west , the Caribbean Sea to the east , and Ecuador to the south of ___MASK61___ Island . It has a population of around 4 . 5 million , of whom nearly a quarter live in the metropolitan ___MASK77___ of the capital and largest city , San José . Mexico (, modern Nahuatl ), officially the United Mexican States , is a federal republic in the southern half of North America . It is bordered to the north by the United States ; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean ; to the southeast by Guatemala , Belize , and the Caribbean Sea ; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico . Covering almost two million square kilometers ( over 760 , 000 sq mi ), Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total ___MASK77___ and the 13th largest independent nation in the world . With an estimated population of over 120 million , it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish - speaking country in the world while being the second most populous country in Latin America . Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city . Other metropolises include Guadalajara , Monterrey , Puebla , Toluca , Tijuana and León . Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily ___MASK1___ . The subfamily contains about 25 species , classified in six or seven genera . They have become established as popular small house pets , and partly because they are easy to breed in captivity , hamsters are often used as laboratory animals . The rodent subfamily ___MASK67___ is one of the most diverse groups of mammals . It includes New World rats and mice , with at least 376 species . Many authorities include the Neotominae and Tylomyinae as part of a larger definition of ___MASK67___ . When those genera are included , the species count numbers at least 508 . Their distribution includes much of the New World , but the genera are predominantly South American , such as brucies . They invaded South America from Central America as part of the Great American Interchange near the end of the Miocene , about 5 million years ago . Sigmodontines proceeded to diversify explosively in the formerly isolated continent . They inhabit many of the same ecological niches that the Murinae occupy in the Old World . Mammals are any vertebrates within the class Mammalia ( from Latin " mamma " " breast "), a clade of endothermic amniotes distinguished from reptiles and birds by the possession of a neocortex ( a region of the brain ), hair , three middle ear bones and mammary glands . The sister group of mammals may be the extinct " Haldanodon ." The mammals represent the only living Synapsida , which together with the ___MASK79___ form the ___MASK33___ clade . The mammals consist of the Yinotheria including monotrema and the Theriiformes including the theria . A lemming is a small rodent , usually found in or near the Arctic , in tundra biomes . Lemmings are subniveal animals and together with voles and muskrats , they make up the subfamily ___MASK75___ ( also known as Microtinae ), which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far , the superfamily Muroidea , which also includes rats , mice , hamsters , and gerbils . Central America is the southernmost , isthmian portion of the North American continent , which connects with South America on the southeast . Central America is bordered by Mexico to the north , Colombia to the southeast , the Caribbean Sea to the east , and the Pacific Ocean to the west . Central America consists of seven countries : Belize , Guatemala , El Salvador , Honduras , Nicaragua , Costa Rica and Panama . The combined population of Central America is between 41 , 739 , 000 ( 2009 estimate ) and 42 , 688 , 190 ( 2012 estimate ). Guatemala (, or ), officially the Republic of Guatemala , is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west , the Pacific Ocean to the southwest , Belize to the northeast , the Caribbean to the east , Honduras to the east and El Salvador to the southeast . With an estimated population of around 15 . 8 million , it is the most populated state in Central America . A representative democracy , Guatemala ' s capital and largest city is Nueva Guatemala de ___MASK63___ Asunción , also known as Guatemala City . Rodents ( from Latin " rodere ", " to gnaw ") are mammals of the order ___MASK41___ , which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws . About 40 % of all mammal species are rodents ; they are found in vast numbers on all continents except Antarctica . They are the most diversified mammalian order and live in a variety of terrestrial habitats , including human - made environments . French Guiana ( pronounced or ), officially called Guiana , is an overseas department and region of France , located on the north Atlantic coast of South America in the Guyanas . It borders Brazil to the east and south , and Suriname to the west . Its ___MASK77___ has a very low population density of only 3 inhabitants per km , with half of its 244 , 118 inhabitants in 2013 living in the metropolitan ___MASK77___ of Cayenne , its capital . By land ___MASK77___ , it is the second largest region of France and the largest outermost region within the European Union . Panama , officially called the Republic of Panama , is a country usually considered to be entirely in North America or Central America . It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west , Colombia ( in South America ) to the southeast , the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south . The capital and largest city is Panama City , whose metropolitan ___MASK77___ is home to nearly half of the country ' s 3 . 9 million people . ___MASK98___ is a genus of rodent in the tribe ___MASK84___ of the family Cricetidae . Some evidence suggests that it is related to " Zygodontomys ". It is characterized , among other traits , by spiny fur . It contains two species , " S . melanops " and " S . ucayalensis ". Venezuela , officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a federal republic located on the northern coast of South America . It is bordered by Colombia on the west , Brazil on the south , Guyana on the east , and the islands of Trinidad and Tobago to the north - east . Venezuela ' s territory covers around with an estimated population . Venezuela is considered a state with extremely high biodiversity ( currently ranks 7th in the world ' s list of nations with the most number of species ), with habitats ranging from the Andes Mountains in the west to the Amazon Basin rain - forest in the south , via extensive " llanos " plains and Caribbean coast in the center and the Orinoco River ___MASK100___ in the east . ___MASK32___ is a genus of rodent in the tribe ___MASK84___ of the family Cricetidae . Its closest relative may be Scolomys . It ranges from Central America east to the Guianas . It contains two species : ___MASK32___ brunneus and ___MASK32___ brevicauda . ___MASK84___ , or rice rat , is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily ___MASK67___ of family Cricetidae . It includes about 120 species in about thirty genera , distributed from the eastern United States to the southernmost parts of South America , including many offshore islands . It is part of the clade Oryzomyalia , which includes most of the South American ___MASK67___ . A vole is a small rodent ; a relative of the mouse , with a stouter body , a shorter , hairy tail , a slightly rounder head , smaller ears and eyes , and differently formed molars ( high - crowned and with angular cusps instead of low - crowned and with rounded cusps ). There are approximately 155 species of voles . They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America and Australia . Vole species form the subfamily ___MASK75___ with the lemmings and the muskrats . A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth . Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria , up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents . Ordered from largest in size to smallest , they are : Asia , Africa , North America , South America , Antarctica , Europe , and Australia . In geology , ___MASK86___ of continental crust include regions covered with water . The ___MASK26___ are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea . It includes true hamsters , voles , lemmings , and New World rats and mice . At almost 600 species , it is the second - largest family of mammals , and has members throughout the Americas , Asia , and Europe . ___MASK32___ brunneus , also known as the brown zygodont , brown cane mouse , or Colombian cane mouse , is a rodent species in the genus " ___MASK32___ " of tribe ___MASK84___ . It is found only in Colombia .