Xenotheridians ("little strange beasts") probably evolved in Asia during the early Tertiary. They did not diversify into hopping lagomorphs or arboreal scurians, but instead stayed small ground-dwelling generalists. Xenotheridians are not true rodents, however; they possess four, rather than two, ever-growing incisors, and their pedal structure is bizarrely similar to that of the pokemusoids ---primitive primates. This last trait may be convergent, but in any case, xenotheridians are clearly distinct from true rodents and rabbits (neither or which live on Spec). Although they are not true rodents, xenotheridians are commonly called 'specworld rodents', and indeed, a casual observation would place a xenotheridian right beside a homely mouse or guinea pig.

Specworld rodents are almost as diverse and successful as their Home-Earth counterparts, with representatives on every continent but Australia and Antarctica. Some species are tiny, while others grow to almost a meter in length. Some are aquatic, while others climb trees, hop on stilt-like legs, or spray poison on their attackers. While not as flashy as some of Spec's other fauna, the xenotheridia are nonetheless worthy of attention.

SAMPLE TAXA: Eurasia

• Spectacled mouse
• Venom rat

Xenotheridians probably invaded Africa from Asia during the Oligocene, where they competed with native mammals for the niche of the herbivore. These mammals are now common across Africa, but they have not diversified far from their generalist progenitors.

SAMPLE TAXA: Africa

• Numrat

Large for a mammal, the twenty-centimeter-long Florida pseudorat eats a variety of food, from seeds to small plants to insects and bird eggs.

(Text by Daniel Bensen )

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