Big-eared swamp rats
| Big-eared swamp rats | ||||||||||||
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| Malacomys | ||||||||||||
| Milne-Edwards , 1877 |
The big-eared swamp rats ( Malacomys ) are a genus of rodents from the group of old world mice (Murinae). The genus includes three types.
General
The namesake feature of these rodents are the large, hairless ears, the skull is elongated, the hind legs are long and thin and the hairless tail is also long. Their fur is extremely soft and silky, the back is dark brown, the flanks are lighter and the belly is whitish. The animals reach a head body length of 12 to 19 centimeters, a tail length of 12 to 22 centimeters and a weight of 50 to 150 grams.
Big-eared swamp rats live in central Africa , their range extends from Guinea to Uganda and northern Zambia . Their habitat are areas with dense vegetation next to bodies of water. They are nocturnal and rest during the day in self-made nests made of grass and leaves, which they create in crevices or in the roots of trees. They are good at climbing. Their diet consists of almost equal parts of plant and animal material, so they eat fruits, seeds and nuts, but also insects, snails and crabs.
Systematics
According to Wilson & Reeder (2005), the big-eared swamp rats occupy an isolated position within the old world mice and are therefore classified in their own genus group, the Malacomys group. Genetic studies by Lecompte et al. (2008) have confirmed this position, they lead the genus in a separate tribe, the Malacomyini.
The genus is divided into three types:
- Malacomys cansdalei lives in western Africa from Liberia to Ghana.
- Malacomys edwardsi is distributed from Guinea to Nigeria.
- Malacomys longipes occurs from Nigeria to Uganda and Zambia.
Two other species, M. lukolelae and M. verschureni , are mostly classified in Praomys today .
None of the three species are endangered according to the IUCN .
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 .
- Emilie Lecompte, Ken Aplin, Christiane Denys, François Catzeflis, Marion Chades, Pascale Chevret: Phylogeny and biogeography of African Murinae based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, with a new tribal classification of the subfamily. In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. Vol. 8, 199, 2008, pp. 1-21, doi : 10.1186 / 1471-2148-8-199 .