''Golunda'' is a genus of
murine
The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families ex ...
rodent.
Fossil record
The
Indian bush rat
The Indian bush rat (''Golunda ellioti'') is a rodent species in the family Muridae. It is the only extant member of the genus '' Golunda'', and is the only extant member of the tribe Arvicanthini found outside of Africa.
The species is widely ...
''(Golunda ellioti)'' is the sole surviving member of this genus, but it was formerly more diverse and widespread, occurring in both
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and
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 ...
. The last surviving species in Africa was ''Golunda aouraghei'' from the
Early Pleistocene. The genus was thought to have originated in Africa, with the
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...](_blank)
with the species ''G. tatroticus'', also from the Pliocene.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10762211
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
Rodent genera
Mammal genera with one living species
Muridae