The Indian bush rat (''Golunda ellioti'') is a
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 ...
species in the family
Muridae
The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
The name Muridae come ...
. It is the only extant member of the genus ''
Golunda
''Golunda'' is a genus of murine rodent.
Fossil record
The Indian bush rat ''(Golunda ellioti)'' is the sole surviving member of this genus, but it was formerly more diverse and widespread, occurring in both Asia and Africa. The last surviving s ...
'', and is the only extant member of the tribe
Arvicanthini
Arvicanthini is a tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. Almost all recent species in this tribe are or were found in Africa aside from one species, the Indian bush rat (''Golunda ellioti''), which is found in South Asia and Iran. Howev ...
found outside of
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 species is widely distributed in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
west to
Kohat
Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century ...
and east to
Guwahati
Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
. It also occurs in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. In addition, an isolated population exists in southeastern
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. As many as 11 subspecies are recognized.
[
The genus name is derived from the Kannada name of ''Gulandi'' while the specific name is after Sir Walter Elliot.][
]
Description
Head and body length is 12–14 cm. Tail is 9–11. Yellowish brown upperparts are speckled with black and reddish yellow. Ventral surface grayish with a yellowish speckle. Orange-yellow incisor teeth. Tail, dark above and yellowish below. Body fur spiny. Rounded head with a blunt nose, with small eyes mark. Relatively short bill.
References
Old World rats and mice
Rats of Asia
Rodents of India
Mammals of Pakistan
Mammals of Nepal
Mammals of Sri Lanka
Fauna of Iran
Mammals described in 1837
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Murinae-stub