Australian thick-tailed rats
| Australian thick-tailed rats | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central Australian thick-tailed rat ( Zyzomys pedunculatus ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Zyzomys | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1909 |
The Australian thick-tailed rats ( Zyzomys ) are a genus of rodents from the group of old world mice (Murinae). The genus includes five species.
Australian thick-tailed rats reach a head body length of 9 to 18 centimeters, with a tail 9 to 14 centimeters long. Their weight, as far as known, is around 35 to 130 grams. Their fur is rough and almost spiky, it is gray or brown on the top and whitish on the underside. The eponymous thickening of the tail is an overgrowth of the skin, but this does not serve as a fat store. The older the animal, the thicker the tail.
These rodents are native to northwestern Australia , they live in northern Western Australia , northern Northern Territory and northern Queensland . Their habitat are rocky forests and scrublands. Their diet consists mainly of fruits, seeds and other parts of plants.
There are five types:
- Zyzomys argurus is distributed throughout northern Australia.
- Zyzomys maini lives in the Arnhem region in the Northern Territory.
- Zyzomys palatilis lives in a small area in the northern Northern Territory.
- Zyzomys pedunculatus is found in a small area in the Northern Territory.
- Zyzomys woodwardi is native to the Kimberley region in Western Australia.
Z. palatilis and Z. pedunculatus are very rare and are listed by the IUCN as " critically endangered " , Z. maini is considered to be "slightly endangered", the other two species are not threatened.
The Australian thick-tailed rats are systematically part of the Pseudomys group , a predominantly Australian radiation of Old World mice.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
