The hoary bamboo rat (''Rhizomys pruinosus'') is a species 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 ...

in the family

Spalacidae The Spalacidae, or spalacids, are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. They are native to eastern Asia, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and southeastern Europe. It includes the blind mole-rats, bamboo rats, mole ...

found in Southeast Asia (

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

), East Asia (

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

) and South Asia (

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 ...

Description

The hoary bamboo rat is a robust rodent that reaches a head-and-body length of with a tail of . Its weight ranges from . The fur on the upper parts is greyish-brown or dark brown with a somewhat grizzled appearance due to the presence of white-tipped guard hairs. The under parts are paler greyish-brown and the tail is scantily haired. The skull is broad and somewhat flattened and the

zygomatic arch In anatomy, the zygomatic arch, or cheek bone, is a part of the skull formed by the zygomatic process of the temporal bone (a bone extending forward from the side of the skull, over the opening of the ear) and the temporal process of the zygomati ...

is large. The upper incisors slope inwards and the broad molars are an orange colour.

Distribution and habitat

The hoary bamboo rat has a wide range which includes northern and north-eastern India, eastern Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Malay Peninsula, and southern China. It occurs from low ground to altitudes of above sea level. It occurs in a variety of habitats including coniferous and mixed woodland, secondary forest, shrubby land bordering woodland, plantations, and bamboo thickets. It is generally absent from dense forests and from cultivated land.

Behaviour

This rat is nocturnal and lives alone in a simple burrow, which has a single entrance marked by a mound, an escape exit, a nest chamber, and latrine chamber. The nest is lined with dried grasses and shreds of bamboo. The bamboo rat emerges at night to forage for plant material, mostly feeding on the stems and roots of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

s and beard grass. Breeding may take place all year round, but it peaks in November/December and March/June. At these times, a male bamboo rat moves into the burrow of a female. The

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregna ...

period is about 22 days and the litter size is usually between one and five. Weaning takes place when the young are about two or two and a half months.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2112404 Rhizomys Rats of Asia Rodents of India Rodents of Cambodia Rodents of China Rodents of Laos Rodents of Malaysia Rodents of Myanmar Rodents of Thailand Rodents of Vietnam Mammals described in 1851 Taxa named by Edward Blyth Taxonomy articles created by Polbot