Barbed rats

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Barbed rats
Lance rat (Hoplomys gymnurus)

Lance rat ( Hoplomys gymnurus )

Systematics
Superordinate : Euarchontoglires
Order : Rodents (Rodentia)
Subordination : Porcupine relatives (Hystricomorpha)
Partial order : Hystricognathi
without rank: Guinea Pig Relatives (Caviomorpha)
Family : Barbed rats
Scientific name
Echimyidae
Gray , 1825

The quill rats (Echimyidae) are a family of rodents from the suborder of the porcupine relatives (Hystricomorpha). The family comprises over 25 genera with around 100 species, including several species that were formerly found on the Caribbean islands and are now extinct. The beaver rat or nutria was originally managed in its own family, Myocastoridae, but also belongs to this group.

distribution

Quill rats are native to Central and South America. Their distribution area extends from Mexico to Argentina and Chile .

description

Quill rats are rather small animals when compared to other American porcupine relatives. Most species reach a head body length of 8 to 45 centimeters and a weight of 130 to 800 grams. Outwardly they resemble rats , but are not closely related to them. The name-giving feature is the spines or bristly hairs found in many species on the back and on the side, which, however, vary in strength and texture or may be absent. Their head is characterized by the mostly pointed snout, the rather large eyes and the round, often small ears. The tooth formula is 1-0-1-3, so you have a total of 20 teeth.

The fur color varies from reddish brown to gray to black, with some species there are white stripes on the head or body. You have four toes on the front feet and five on the back feet, which can be shaped differently depending on your lifestyle. The length of the tail is different depending on the species, it often breaks off, which helps them escape from predators.

Way of life

Most spiny rats are forest dwellers, but occupy different biological niches there. Some species are pure tree-dwellers who almost never come to the ground, others live exclusively on the ground. There are also burrowing species that live underground and build complex systems of passages. Most species are solitary and are crepuscular or nocturnal. The diet also varies with the habitat. The animals eat a wide variety of plants and parts of plants such as grass, bamboo, roots, fruits or nuts.

Systematics

The approximately 100 species of spiny rats are divided into the following subfamilies and genera:

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 .
  • Malcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: Classification of Mammals. Revised Edition. Above the species level. Columbia University Press, New York NY 2000, ISBN 0-231-11013-8 .

Single receipts

  1. ↑ Maxime Courcelle, Marie-ka Tilak, Yuri LR Leite, Emmanuel JP Douzery, Pierre-Henri Fabre: Digging for the spiny rat and hutia phylogeny using a gene capture approach, with the description of a new mammal subfamily. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, March, 2019, doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2019.03.007
  2. ↑ ITIS: Echimyidae accessed August 24, 2013

Web links

Commons : Sting Rats (Echimyidae)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files