Bamboo rats
| Bamboo rats | ||||||||||||
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Large bamboo rat ( Rhizomys sumatrensis , stuffed specimen) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rhizomys | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1831 |
Bamboo rats ( Rhizomys ) are a genus of rodents that belong to the family Spalacidae and are found in Southeast Asia .
There are three types:
- The gray bamboo rat ( Rhizomys pruinosus ) lives in an area between Assam , the southwestern People's Republic of China and the Malay Peninsula .
- The Chinese bamboo rat ( Rhizomys sinensis ) occurs in central and southern China as well as in the north of Myanmar and Vietnam .
- The great bamboo rat ( Rhizomys sumatrensis ) is found from the Chinese province of Yunnan south to Myanmar, Thailand , the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra .
Mark
Bamboo rats are comparatively large rodents with a head-trunk length of 23 to 48 cm, a tail length of 5 to 20 cm and a weight of 1 to 4 kg. The fur is soft in cold regions and rough in hot regions. Its color at the top is a mix of gray with brown or pink tones. The bottom generally appears lighter. Bamboo rats are physically similar to the American pocket rats (Geomyidae), but they lack the cheek pouches. They are sturdy with short legs and bare tails. The toes have claws.
Way of life
These rodents live in the dense bamboo undergrowth in regions between 1,200 and 4,000 meters above sea level. They dig easy tunnels with the help of their paws and incisors. As the name suggests, bamboo rats mainly eat roots from bamboo plants. During the night they also consume pieces of bamboo above ground. Grass as well as fruits and seeds of other plants serve as complementary food.
Reproductive behavior has only been studied in North Vietnam. There are two mating seasons there between February and April and August to October. Three to five young are born after a gestation of at least 22 days. When they are born in the underground burrow, the young are naked and blind. They get their first hair at the end of the second week of life and open their eyes at the beginning of the fourth week. After about a month they start eating solid foods and after about three months they are no longer nursing. Life expectancy can be four years.
status
Bamboo rats are hunted for their meat, intensely in limited areas. The destruction of the environment poses a further danger. Locally they are fought as pests by farmers. The IUCN lists all three species as Least Concern .
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 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Ed.): Mammal Species of the World . A taxonomic and geographic Reference . 3. Edition. 2 volumes. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 (English, Rhizomys ).
- ↑ a b c d e Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Volume 2. 6th edition. 1999, pp. 1441–1442, partly on Google books .
- ↑ Rhizomys in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011. Accessed August 30, 2012.
