Rodents belong to the order of mammals known as Rodentia.  They are characterized as animals having incisors in their upper and lower jaws which they use for eating seeds and plants as well as for protection against predators.

There are over two thousand species of rodents worldwide and this order comprises approximately forty percent of mammalian species. Common rodents that inhabit North America may include but are not limited to:  chipmunks, hamsters, voles, beavers, guinea pigs, porcupines, marmots, mice, rats and squirrels.

Rodents are important members of ecosystems since they serve as a plentiful food source for predators, are instrumental in seed dissemination and are also vectors for disease transmission. Mammals that are sometimes confused with rodents include pica and rabbits which belong to the Lagomorpha order of mammals and the opossum which is actually a marsupial.