Asiatic soft rats
Asiatic soft rats | ||||||||||||
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Millardia gleadowi , illustration |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Millardia | ||||||||||||
Thomas , 1911 |
The Asian soft rats ( Millardia ) are a genus of rodents from the group of old world mice (Murinae). The genus includes four species.
General
These rodents reach a body length of 8 to 20 centimeters, plus a tail 7 to 19 centimeters long. The name-giving feature is the soft, not prickly fur . Their back is brown to gray-brown in color, the underside is white. The ears are relatively large, the tail is hairy.
These animals are native to southern Asia , their range extends from Pakistan over large parts of India to Myanmar , they are also found in Sri Lanka . Habitat are grasslands and swamps, but also fields. They are nocturnal, and burrows - including those of other animals - or stone piles serve as hiding places. Their food is grains, seeds and green parts of plants.
Systematics
According to Wilson & Reeder (2005), the Asian soft rats are the namesake of the Millardia genus group, a South Asian radiation of Old World mice, which also includes the genera Indian rock rats ( Cremnomys ), Crump mice ( Diomys ) and Blanford rats ( Madromys ). According to the genetic studies by Lecompte et al. (2008) at least the Asian soft rats and the Indian rock rats form a separate tribe , Millardini.
The following four types are distinguished:
- Millardia gleadowi lives in Pakistan and northwestern India.
- Millardia kathleenae is endemic to Myanmar.
- Millardia kondana occurs only in one place, the Singharh Plateau in the state of Maharashtra .
- Millardia meltada inhabits Pakistan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Due to its small distribution area, M. kondana is considered “ critically endangered ”, the other three species are not endangered according to the IUCN . M. meltada sometimes reproduces so strongly that it is considered a plague and devastates numerous agricultural areas.
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 .