Ondatra Link, 1795 . Beytrage zur Naturgeschichte, 1 (2):76.

TYPE SPECIES: Castor zibethicus Linnaeus, 1766 .

SYNONYMS: Fiber, Moschomys, Simotes .

COMMENTS: Tribe Ondatrini, either as sole member (Hooper and Hart, 1962; Koenigswald, 1980) or with Neofiber (Chaline and Mein, 1979; Kretzoi, 1969; Repenning et al., 1990). Evidence from fossil history and morphology suggests that the two genera of "muskrats" are more distantly related than their inclusion in the same tribe would connote (Carleton, 1981; Hooper and Hart, 1962; Koenigswald, 1980; L. D. Martin, 1975, 1979). Believed to have originated from Pliocene form Pliopotamys (Eshelman, 1975; Zakrzewski, 1974).