Giant pocket rat
| Giant pocket rat | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Orthogeomys grandis | ||||||||||||
| ( Thomas , 1893) |
The giant pocket rat ( Orthogeomys grandis ), also known as the hamster rat , is a species of the pocket rats family from Central America .
features
The giant pocket rat has a head-trunk length of 10 to 35 cm, a tail length of 4 to 14 cm and a total length of 14 to 49 cm. Their weight is 300–900 grams. This makes her one of the largest pocket rats.
distribution and habitat
The area of the giant pocket rat extends from Jalisco in Mexico via Guatemala and El Salvador to the northern part of Honduras . It inhabits wooded and agricultural areas from sea level to an altitude of 2700 meters.
Way of life
Like other pocket rats, the giant pocket rat builds a cave system with their strong, clawed front feet. It eats roots, bulbs and other subterranean plant parts and also comes to the surface at night to look for stems and shoots, which it brings to its burrow in the fur-lined cheek pouches. The animals are solitary and only form groups of one male and four females at the time of reproduction. Two or more young are born in a grass-lined nesting chamber in the lowest part of the den.
Individual evidence
- ^ E. Vázquez, L. Emmons and T. McCarthy: Orthogeomys grandis , 2008 in the Red List Version 2010.1; Retrieved March 15, 2010
literature
- David Burnie (Ed.): Animals. (The large picture encyclopedia with over 2000 species). Dorling Kindersley, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-831-00956-2 .