Proceedings of 

 the United States 

 National Museum 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION • WASHINGTON, D.C. 



Volume 122 1967 Number 3597 



A Comparative Study 



In Rodent Ethology 



With Emphasis 



On Evohition of Social Behavior, I 



By John F. Eisenberg 

 Resident Scientistf National Zoological Park 



Introduction 



The rodents exhibit, as an order, a complex series of morphological, 

 physiological, behavioral, and ecological adaptations. Dming the 

 long history of adaptive radiation within this order, many instances 

 of convergent or parallel evolution have occurred, thus rendering the 

 subordinal classification quite difficult (Simpson, 1959; Wood, 1955). 

 In spite of such diversity, the rodents form a remarkably unified taxon, 

 and such an example of ecological diversity superimposed on a com- 

 mon morphological theme has intrigued many ethologists concerned 

 with the evolution of behavior. Among the more prominent workers, 

 Dr. I. Eibl-Eibesfeldt has contributed much to our knowledge of the 

 subject and is also responsible for the most recent review of rodent 

 behavior (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1958). 



Eight years ago the present author initiated a comparative study of 

 rodent behavior, partial results of which have been published in 

 several papers (Eisenberg, 1962a, 1963a, b, c) and abstracts (Eisen- 

 berg, 1962b, 1964), These earlier, separate papers do not adequately 



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