Big cane rat
| Big cane rat | ||||||||||
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Great cane rat ( Thryonomys swinderianus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Thryonomys swinderianus | ||||||||||
| ( Temminck , 1827) |
The great cane rat ( Thryonomys swinderianus ) is one of the two types of cane rats within the porcupine relatives . It is distributed in large parts of sub-Saharan Africa and, along with porcupines and spring hares, is one of the largest rodents in Africa.
features
general characteristics
The great reed rat is one of the largest rodents in Africa and is only surpassed there by the species of porcupines ( Hystrix ) and jumping hares ( Pedetes ). The head-torso length is 67 to 79 centimeters for the males and 65 to 67 centimeters for the females with a weight of about 3 to 5 kilograms. The tail reaches a length of 16.5 to 19.5 centimeters and is therefore relatively short. The rear foot length is 80 to 100 millimeters, the ear length 30 to 45 millimeters. In principle, the males are slightly larger and heavier than the females.
The animals have a stocky and strong build with a short and flat head. The fur is thick and rough, it is brown to fawn with yellow and black spots; sometimes it can be darker to almost black on the back and forehead. The hair is largely brown with a yellowish ring near the terminal end and a black tip of hair. The flanks are also brown and merge into the white-gray color of the abdomen. The head is short with a broad and blunt muzzle. The eyes are small, the mouth lies ventrally and is covered by the enlarged nasal region. The ears, which are also small and rounded, lie close to the head, they are covered with short hair and often covered by the long hair on the cheeks.
The front and rear legs are short and very strong, they have strong claws. The front feet have five toes, the first of which is comparatively short and the fifth is only rudimentary. The hind feet have only four toes, the first is missing and the fifth is very small; the underside of the feet is hairy. The tail is short and only densely hairy at the base, the remaining part is covered with small scales. It has a thick base and tapers towards the end.
The females have three pairs of teats in the groin area.
Features of the skull
The skull of the animals is strongly built and reaches a total length of 86.5 to 95 millimeters. The width in the area of the zygomatic arches is 55.6 to 61.3 millimeters and the row of teeth from the first premolar to the last molar (M3) is 18 to 19.5 millimeters. In the side view, the front skull area is arched, the zygomatic arches begin on the top of the skull and protrude far. The animals also have well-developed bone ridges over their eyes. The upper incisors are wide and covered on the outside with a thick orange-colored layer of dentin . Both teeth have three longitudinal grooves on the outside, with the outer groove located approximately in the middle of the tooth. The premolars and molars have a complex pattern of folds in the enamel, with two folds each on the outside and one on the inside. In the individual development, the third molar only breaks through from the jaw much later than the other molars.
distribution
The distribution area of the Great cane rat includes a large part of Africa south of the Sahara. It extends from Senegal , Gambia and Guinea in West Africa through Central Africa to Kenya , Uganda and Tanzania in East Africa and from there south to the east of South Africa . The available habitats are partially fragmented and spotty, so it does not occur in the entire area. In the rain forest areas of Central Africa as well as in dry deserts and semi-desert areas in Namibia , Angola and South Africa, however, the species is not found. The height distribution extends up to a maximum of 1,800 meters on Kilimanjaro .
Way of life
They live in densely overgrown grass and savanna areas near wetlands and swamps with reeds as well as the banks of rivers and lakes, also in remaining areas of cleared rainforests. In addition, they also occur on agricultural areas such as corn fields , sugar cane plantations and in the outskirts of cities and settlements. They are also found in peanut fields , palm oil plantations and other agricultural areas, where they can cause considerable damage, which means that they are fought locally as pests.
The animals are nocturnal, but they can also be found in protected areas during the day. In the event of a malfunction, they are able to run quickly and often become paralyzed after longer runs in order to hide better. They use running tracks in the dense vegetation. They are also good swimmers. During the day they stay in shallow pits in the vegetation, which are often surrounded by walls of grass and reed stalks. They also use crevices and abandoned earthworks of other animals such as aardvark or porcupine caves.
nutrition
The Great cane rat eats herbivores from plant material, said she eats mainly the stems of grasses and sedges. They mainly eat the thicker stems, whereby they usually lay their head on the side of the stem and can bite it off with the outside of the upper incisors at an angle of about 45 °. The bitten off piece is then picked up in the mouth and split with the teeth. The cut pieces are then held with the forefeet and put into the mouth to be eaten. With their incisors, they further divide the pieces and bite off peaks, which they then chew with their molars with typical chewing movements. The seed-bearing tips are pushed completely into the mouth and the seeds are scraped off with the teeth.
In agricultural areas, the animals feed on corn, sugar cane and millet. The cutting points are marked by the pieces of stalk lying in stacks. They also leave typical fecal pills in these places .
Reproduction
Mating takes place from April to June. After a gestation period of 2–3 months, 2 to 4 developed young are born. These are deposited in a dug out earth hollow padded with grass. You open your eyes right after the birth and after a short time you can move around with your parents. At the age of one year the boys themselves are already sexually mature.
Predators and parasites
The great cane rat's natural predators include various predators such as the leopard , serval , wild dogs and others. There are also snakes such as the python and various birds of prey . Among the ectoparasites especially are ticks spread, also different are roundworms and tapeworms proven.
Systematics
The big cane rat is an independent species of the cane rats ( Thryonomys ) within the porcupine relatives (Hystricomorpha), which besides it only contain the little cane rat ( T. gregorianus ). The first scientific description comes from Coenraad Jacob Temminck , who described it in 1827 as Aulacodus swinderianus from Sierra Leone .
No subspecies are currently distinguished within the species.
Hazards and protective measures
The great cane rat is used and hunted as a meat supplier in almost all regions in which it lives. In parts of Africa they are a popular source of meat and are hunted, sold and consumed as bush meat. Hunting is usually legally possible and is likely to have little impact on populations . Besides the African tassel spike it is one of the most hunted and traded bushmeat species in West and Central Africa. Hunting dogs are used for hunting or the animals are scared off by fires and shot or caught with traps. Regionally, for example in southern Nigeria , they make up 20 to 35% of the animals used as bushmeat and are the most common or second most common animals offered at local meat markets. In the early 1970s, around 110,000 kilograms were sold in the markets in Accra , Ghana , which corresponds to around 40,000 to 55,000 animals.
Although people hunted them for their meat, this species is still relatively common and also occurs in protected areas, and it has a very large distribution area. Therefore, it is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN .
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l D.CD Happold: Thryonomys swinderianus. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 688-690; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
- ↑ a b c d Thryonomys swinderianus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: MF Child, 2016. Retrieved on 21 May 2020th
- ↑ a b c Thryonomys swinderianus . In: 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 .
literature
- DCD Happold: Thryonomys swinderianus. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 688-690; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
Web links
- Thryonomys swinderianus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: MF Child, 2016. Retrieved on 21 May 2020th