Red-nosed rats
| Red-nosed rats | ||||||||||||
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| Oenomys | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1904 |
The red-nosed rats ( Oenomys ) - not to be confused with the red-nosed mouse - are a genus of rodents from the group of old world mice (Murinae). The genus includes two types.
General
Red-nosed rats reach a head body length of 11 to 22 centimeters. there is also a 14 to 21 centimeter long tail. The weight is 50 to 120 grams. Their soft, fine fur is colored reddish brown on the upper side, the underside is whitish to light brown. Name-giving feature are reddish cheeks or nose. The tail is actually hairless and scaly, the ears are large and rounded.
Rotnasenratten live in Africa south of the Sahara , their range extends from Sierra Leone and Ethiopia to Angola and Tanzania . Their preferred habitat are forests with thick undergrowth. They can climb well and sometimes spend time in the trees. They can be active during the day as well as at night, to sleep they retreat into self-made nests made of grass and leaves. Presumably they live largely solitary. The food of these animals consists of green parts of plants, but also insects.
Systematics
Within the Old World mice, the red-nosed rats are the namesake of the Oenomys genus group, which also includes the acacia mice ( Grammomys ), the Oku rats ( Lamottemys ), the acacia rats ( Thallomys ), the thicket rats ( Thamnomys ) and the extinct Canary Giant rats ( Canariomys ) and Canary lava mice ( Malpaisomys ) include.
According to genetic studies by Lecompte et al. (2008) the animals of the Oenomys group are part of a predominantly African radiation of Old World mice, which also includes the Aethomys group , the Arvicanthis group , the Dasymys group , the Golunda group and the Hobomys group and which are classified as Arvicanthini can be summarized. With the actual rats ( Rattus ), however, there is only a very distant relationship.
There are two types:
- Oenomys hypoxanthus is distributed from Nigeria to Angola and Tanzania.
- Oenomys ornatus lives in western Africa, from Sierra Leone to Ghana.
Neither species is 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 .