ABSTRACT
Rodent problems on the North American Continent are highly varied as they are on most other continents and involve both introduced as well as native species. This chapter discusses the basis of taxonomic classification, and explores how they affect man's interest or impact on humans. Rodents of one species or another may cause damage at most any stage of plant growth from the seed to the harvestable commodity. Pocket gophers are fossorial rodents that spend much of their lives in their extensive burrow systems. Prairie dogs, the local name given to rodents belonging to the genus Cynomys, are found mostly in the Plains area of the US Nutria or coypu is a rodent introduced into North America from South America, originally brought to the US as a fur-bearing animal to raise in captivity.
