Jeremy Allen White, Travis Barker, Matty Healy Among NYT's Hot 'Rodent Men'

The new sex symbols of Hollywood have arrived -- and they're now being dubbed "rodent men," whose critter features ladies just can't resist ... so says The New York Times.

The publication's Styles team just put together a comprehensive list of hot "rodent men" ... with Jeremy Allen White, Travis Barker and Matty Healy among the poster boys ... err, poster rats?

"Challengers" stars Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor are getting a lot of non-traditional love on social media these days -- lotsa folks think they look like hotter, human versions of Stuart Little -- and now thanks to them, "rodent men" is a full-blown category of hunk.

The NY Times is diving face-first into the topic ... like a subway rat going after some discarded pizza ... and their list is quite something.

Rami Malek, Willem Dafoe and Adam Driver all have the qualities of the hot rodent man ... which the NYT characterizes as "an unconventional mousy man" with a toothy smile, angular face and big ears who comes off as edgy and elusive.

Simu Liu also got labeled a "rodent man" by the NYT ... his name coming up when the paper was looking for "racially diverse Rodent Men," but his inclusion is catching flak online.

As for why the "rodent man" is a suddenly desirable figure these days ... well, the NYT has some wild theories ... one staffer suggests it's a pushback against AI, filters and photo edits, while another says it's more about women feeling safe with non-stereotypical masculinity.

Timothée Chalamet came up as a name some consider to be a "rodent man" ... but the NYT doesn't see it, saying he's more feline than rodent.