Caviomorph rodents: an introduction

VASSALLO, ALDO IVÁN; ANTENUCCI, CDANIEL

Biology of Caviomorph Rodents: Diversity and Evolution

SAREM

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2015; p. 1 - 10

Aims and scopeThis book covers aspects of the evolutionary history and adaptive diversity of a group of rodents known as caviomorphs, one of whose main features is that they evolved in South America, where their common ancestor probably arrived from Africa. But in addition to focusing on a particular group of animals, this book aims to address general issues related to evolutionary biology. We asked the following question: what light may the study of caviomorphs shed on ecological evolutionary processes? Evolutionary biology is perhaps one of the most integrative fields in biology, as it draws on disciplines such as morphology, ecology, genetics, physiology, behavior, and biogeography. Thus, studying a particular taxonomic group while integrating different disciplines could help to answer more general questions concerning evolution.By themselves, rodents are extremely diverse, including more than 2000 living species, thus constituting the most speciose mammalian order. In addition to the numerical contribution to the large number of species included in the Order Rodentia, caviomorphs also encompass a huge range of adaptive diversity. This diversity is probably the outcome of the ability of this group to respond to environmental challenges with very different morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations, which have given rise to a great diversity of ecological niches.The extent of these adaptations seems to surpassqualitatively the level of those that occur not only in other rodent groups, but also in other groups of mammals.This leads to the fact that the popular image, or physiognomy of a typical rodent (e.g., Rattus; Mus; squirrel) differs greatly from that of a mara, capybara, or tuco-tuco. Currently, the study of the diversity and evolution of a particular group of organisms may be approached by very different disciplines with their particular methodologies, which permit answering increasingly narrow questions. However, it has been said that species evolve as a whole, responding in some way with all their phenotypic and genotypic baggage. One can hardly wonder about the adaptive value of a particular trait isolated and detached from the rest of the features of the species. In this book we have gathered several works on the biology of caviomorph rodents because in our opinion, knowledge of them has advanced significantly in the last two decades. Thus, we believe it is time to attempt a new synthesis or integration of the contributions made from different disciplines. We want to mention here the excellent book ?The biology of hystricomorph rodents? (1974), edited by Barbara Weir and Idwal W. Rowlands, which is one of the most important background works on this group of rodents.