What is Murinae?
{{Automatic Taxobox | name = Murinae | fossil_range = Middle [[Miocene]] {{ndash}} Recent | image = house_mouse.jpg | image_caption = ''[[Mus musculus]]'', the house mouse | taxon = Murinae | authority = [[Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger|Illiger]], 1811 <!-- | subdivision_ranks = [[Genus|Genera]] | subdivision = See text. --> }} The '''Old World rats and mice''' (called '''Murinae''') is a [[subfamily]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Muridae]]. It has about 560 species. This subfamily is larger than all [[mammal]] families except the [[Cricetidae]]. It is also larger than most [[mammal]] [[order (biology)|order]]s. ==Description== The Murinae are native to [[Africa]], [[Europe]], [[Asia]], and [[Australia]]. They are the only [[terrestrial animal|terrestrial]] [[placental]] [[mammal]]s native to Australia. They have also been [[invasive species|introduced]] to all continents except [[Antarctica]]. They are serious pest animals. This is particularly true in islands where they have [[endangered]] and caused the extinction [[extinct]]ion of many native animals. The [[brown rat]] and the [[house mouse]] are both used for medical tests. They are among the animals whose [[genome]] has been sequenced. The murines have a distinctive [[molar]] pattern that involves three rows of cusps instead of two, the primitive pattern seen most frequently in [[muroid rodent]]s. == Fossils == The first known appearance of the Murinae in the [[fossil]] record is about [[Miocene|14 million years ago]] with the fossil genus ''[[Antemus]]''. ''Progonomys'' is thought to be the ancestor of ''[[Mus (genus)|Mus]]'' and relatives, while ''[[Karnimata]]'' is thought to lead to ''[[Rattus]]'' and relatives. All of these fossils are found in the well-preserved and easily dated [[Siwalik]] fossil beds of [[Pakistan]]. The genera ''[[Uranomys]]'', ''[[Lophuromys]]'', and ''[[Acomys]]'' were once thought to be murines. Later, it was discovered (by [[molecular phylogeny|molecular phylogenetics]] that they were more closely related to