The order Rodentia is the most abundant and successful group of mammals, and it has been a focal point of attention for compar- ative and evolutionary biologists for many years. In addition, rodents are the most commonly used experimental mammals for bio- medical research, and they have played a central role in investi- gations of the genetic and molecular mechanisms of speciation in mammals. During recent decades, a tremendous amount of new data from various aspects of the biology of living and fossil rodents has been accumulated by specialists from different disciplines, ranging from...

Tree shrews are small-bodied, scansorial, squirrel-like mammals that occupy a wide range of arboreal, semi-arboreal, and forest floor niches in Southeast Asia and adjacent islands. Comparative aspects of tree shrew biology have been the subject of extensive investigations during the past two decades. These studies were initiated in part because of the widely accepted belief that tupaiids are primitive primates, and, as such, might provide valuable insight into the evolutionary origin of complex patterns of primate behavior, locomotion, neurobiology, and reproduction. During the same period,...

The order Rodentia is the most abundant and successful group of mammals, and it has been a focal point of attention for compar- ative and evolutionary biologists for many years. In addition, rodents are the most commonly used experimental mammals for bio- medical research, and they have played a central role in investi- gations of the genetic and molecular mechanisms of speciation in mammals. During recent decades, a tremendous amount of new data from various aspects of the biology of living and fossil rodents has been accumulated by specialists from different disciplines, ranging from...