''Arvicanthis'' is a genus of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. They are commonly referred to as unstriped grass mice, unstriped grass rats, and kusu rats.
Species
Genus ''Arvicanthis'' - unstriped grass mice
*
Abyssinian grass rat, ''Arvicanthis abyssinicus''
Rüppell, 1842
*
Sudanian grass rat
The Sudanian grass rat (''Arvicanthis ansorgei'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It is found in Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, possibly Benin, possibly Ivory Coast, possibly Ghana, possibly Guinea, and possibly ...
, ''Arvicanthis ansorgei''
Thomas, 1910
*
Blick's grass rat, ''Arvicanthis blicki''
Frick, 1914
*
Nairobi grass rat
The Nairobi grass rat (''Arvicanthis nairobae'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, and possibly Ethiopia.
Its natural habitat is dry savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i ...
, ''Arvicanthis nairobae''
J. A. Allen, 1909
*
Neumann's grass rat, ''Arvicanthis neumanni''
Matschie, 1894
*
African grass rat
The Nile rat (''Arvicanthis niloticus'') is a species of rodent in the family Murinae.
Taxonomy
The species is divided into the following six subspecies.
*''A. n. niloticus'': Nile, Egypt;
*''A. n. dembeensis '' (): Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea; T ...
, ''Arvicanthis niloticus''
É. Geoffroy, 1803
*
Guinean grass rat, ''Arvicanthis rufinus''
Temminck, 1853
Genetic evidence indicates that the extinct ''
Canariomys
''Canariomys'' is an extinct genus of rodents (Old World rats and mice) that once existed on the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria, part of the Canary Islands, Spain. These giant rats could reach a weight of about . They were herbivores; their ...
'' is also nested within this genus.
References
*Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 ''in'' Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Rodent genera
Taxa named by René Lesson
{{Murinae-stub