All Australian rodents fall within the Subfamily Murinae.
There are ~60 species found in Australia and they range in size from the delicate mouse (Pseudomys delicatulus) at 6 g to the water rat (Hydromys chrysogaster) weighing up to 1 kg (Breed and Ford 2007).
Rodents first arrived in Australia around 2.5-4 million yr ago from southern Asian ancestors. Once in Australia, some species underwent remarkable adaptation and radiation in order to exploit the varied Australian environment. Rodents have a widespread distribution across Australia, but there are regional differences in species diversity. The greatest variety occurs in north-east Qld where up to 17 species occur (Breed and Ford 2007).The physiology, anatomy, husbandry and medicine of Australian rodents have been covered in detail (Breed and Eden 2008). This chapter provides an update on literature and the current state of knowledge of the medicine of Australian native rodents since then.
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