Mice and Rats

Discussions and information on all Southern African Mammals
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nan
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Mice and Rats

Post by nan »

Mice

Climbing Mice : Dendromurinae is a subfamily of rodents in the family Nesomyidae and superfamily Muroidea. The dendromurines are currently restricted to Africa, as is the case for all extant members of the family Nesomyidae.

Four-striped Grass Mouse : Rhabdomys is a largely Southern African genus of muroid rodents slightly larger than house mice. They are known variously as Striped or Four-Striped mice or rats. Traditionally the genus has been seen as a single species, Rhabdomys pumilio, though modern evidence on the basis of karyotype and mtDNA analysis suggests that it comprises two or more species and subspecies. Dorsally Rhabdomys species display four characteristic black longitudinal stripes on a paler background.

House Mouse : The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a small mammal of the order Rodentia, characteristically having a pointed snout, small rounded ears, and a long naked or almost hairless tail. It is one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus. Although a wild animal, the house mouse mainly lives in association with humans.

Grant's Rock Mouse : Grant's Rock Mouse or Grant's Rock Rat (Aethomys granti) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in South Africa. It is sometimes included in the genus Micaelamys. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and rocky areas.

Sources : WikipediA
Last edited by nan on Thu May 01, 2014 5:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: Mice and Rats - Animal of the Month: May 2014

Post by nan »

Rats

Acacia Rat : The Acacia Rat (Thallomys paedulcus) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

Brant's Whistling Rat : Brants's Whistling Rat (Parotomys brantsii) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and pastureland.

Mole-Rat : The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) also known as the sand puppy or desert mole rat, is a burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa and is the only species currently classified in the genus Heterocephalus. The naked mole rat and the Damaraland mole rat are the only known eusocial mammals. It has a highly unusual set of physical traits that enable it to thrive in an otherwise harsh underground environment; it is the only mammalian thermoconformer, has a lack of pain sensation in its skin, and has very low metabolic and respiratory rates.

Cane-Rat : The genus Thryonomys, also known as the cane rats, is a genus of rodent found throughout Africa south of the Sahara, the only members of the family Thryonomyidae. They are eaten in some African countries and are a pest species on many crops. Family name comes from the Greek word thryon meaning a "rush" or "reed".
Greater Cane-Rat : The greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) is one of two species of cane rats, a small family of African hystricognath rodents. The cane rat lives by reed-beds and riverbanks in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cane rats can grow to nearly 2 ft (0.61 m) in length and weigh a little less than 19 lb (8.6 kg). It has rounded ears, a short nose, and coarse bristly hair. Its forefeet are smaller than its hind feet, each with three toes.
Cane rats live in small groups led by a single male. They are nocturnal and make nests from grasses or burrow underground. Individuals of the species may live in excess of four years. If frightened, they grunt and run towards water. So far, their conservation status is lower risk.
As humans expanded into the cane rat's native habitats, the cane rats likewise expanded from their native reeds into the plantations, particularly the sugar cane plantations from which they derive their name. Their tendency to adopt plantations as habitat, where they feed on agricultural crops such as maize, wheat, sugar-cane and cassava, often earns them the label of agricultural pest. However, the peoples of the region also utilize the cane rat as a food source (as bushmeat), considering the meat a delicacy. Consequently, grasscutters (as they are often called in Ghana and other regions of West Africa) are beginning to be raised in cages for sale.

Sources : WikipediA


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Re: Mice and Rats - Animal of the Month: May 2014

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Gerbil

Gerbil : A gerbil is a small mammal of the order Rodentia. Once known simply as "desert rats", the gerbil subfamily includes about 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all of which are adapted to arid habitats. Most are primarily diurnal (though some, including the common household pet, do exhibit crepuscular behavior), and almost all are omnivorous.
The word "gerbil" is a diminutive form of "jerboa", though the jerboas are an unrelated group of rodents occupying a similar ecological niche.
One Mongolian species, Meriones unguiculatus, also known as the clawed jird, is a gentle and hardy animal that has become a popular pet. It was first brought from China to Paris, France in the 19th century, and became a popular house pet. It was then brought to the United States in 1954 by Dr. Victor Schwentker for use in research.
Gerbils are typically between six and 12 inches (150 and 300 mm) long, including the tail, which makes up about one-half of their total length. One species, the great gerbil, or Rhombomys opimus, originally native to Turkmenistan, can grow to more than 16 inches (400 mm). The average adult gerbil weighs about 2.5 oz. (70 g).

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Re: Mice and Rats - Animal of the Month: May 2014

Post by nan »

Shrew (Sengis) Elephant shrew

And not realy a rodent... but an interesting one :

Elephant shrew : Elephant shrews, or jumping shrews, are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the family Macroscelididae, in the order Macroscelidea, whose traditional common English name comes from a fancied resemblance between their long noses and the trunk of an elephant, and an assumed relationship with the shrews (family Soricidae) in the order Insectivora. It has become plain that the elephant shrews are not to be classified with the superficially similar true shrews, but ironically are rather more closely related to elephants and their kin within the newly recognized Afrotheria; the biologist Jonathan Kingdon has proposed they instead be called sengis, a term derived from the Bantu languages of Africa.
They are widely distributed across the southern part of Africa, and although common nowhere, can be found in almost any type of habitat, from the Namib Desert to boulder-strewn outcrops in South Africa to thick forest. One species, the North African elephant shrew, remains in the semiarid, mountainous country in the far northwest of the continent.


Sources : WikipediA

and maybe a lot more... as per you... and your pictures ;-)

I hope nobody is afraid by... this little animal... 0*\


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Re: Mice and Rats - Animal of the Month: May 2014

Post by Toko »

Oi, the small cuties get a topic O/\ O/\ O/\


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Re: Mice and Rats - Animal of the Month: May 2014

Post by Mel »

And I have even some stuff to contribute. O\/

Thanks for the choice, nan. 0/0


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Re: Mice and Rats - Animal of the Month: May 2014

Post by Flutterby »

Creepy crawlies...with long tails!! O-/

Don't think I have any pics! :-?


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Re: Mice and Rats - Animal of the Month: May 2014

Post by Amoli »

Great Nan, now I can look at them without jumping on the table.. =O: =O:

I have one to add - though only a House mouse. ;-)


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Re: Mice and Rats - Animal of the Month: May 2014

Post by nan »

Amoli wrote:Great Nan, now I can look at them without jumping on the table.. =O: =O:

I have one to add - though only a House mouse. ;-)
nice... we need a House Mouse O/\


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Re: Mice and Rats - Animal of the Month: May 2014

Post by Tina »

nan wrote:I hope nobody is afraid by... this little animal... 0*\
:-0

I think it is a great choice. \O I just love to watch them 0()


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