The Ethiopian amphibious rat also known as the Ethiopian water mouse (''Nilopegamys plumbeus'') is an
insectivorous and
semiaquatic
In biology, semiaquatic can refer to various types of animals that spend part of their time in water, or plants that naturally grow partially submerged in water. Examples are given below.
Semiaquatic animals
Semi aquatic animals include:
* Ve ...
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 n ...
in the monotypic genus ''Nilopegamys'' of the family
Muridae. There has only been one known specimen. It was found along the
Lesser Abay River
Gilgel Abay (ግልገል አባይ, Gǝlgäl Abbay), or Lesser Abay, is a river of central Ethiopia. Rising in the mountains of Gojjam, it flows northward to empty into south-western Lake Tana at . Tributaries of the Gilgel Abbay include the Asha ...
near its source at an altitude of 2600 m in the highlands of northwestern
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
in 1928.
''N. plumbeus'' is considered to be the most aquatically adapted African murid; its unusually large brain is thought to be one consequence of this lifestyle.
The species is considered to be
critically endangered or possibly
extinct, since its habitat has been
severely damaged by
overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...
and monoculture.
Distribution and discovery
In late March of 1928 the Ethiopian amphibious rat was cataloged for the first time.
The specimen was discovered in a trap set by Wilfred H. Osgood, and was unlike any African rat he had seen before. The rat showed multiple adaptations to aquatic life which is uncommon for rats in Africa. Aquatic rats have been observed in South America but never before in east Africa.
The Ethiopian amphibious rat has been spotted very few times in the wild. It has been sighted in the Ethiopian highlands in their wetland areas. The single found specimen was located near the Lesser Abay River in central Ethiopia.
This rat is listed as critically endangered but many researchers studying the rodent fear it is already extinct due to two failed attempts to locate and track the rat.
Anatomy
''Nilopegamuys plumbeus'' is specifically adapted to live near or in close contact with water. There are other rodents adapted to live in wetlands such as
marsh rice rat or the
European water vole
The European water vole or northern water vole (''Arvicola amphibius''), is a semi-aquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep br ...
. Out of all other African aquatic rodents however, the Ethiopian amphibious rat has the most extreme adaptations to its environment.
They have a pair of adapted “waders” on their feet recognizable as webbing.
Since N. plumbeus is so specifically adapted to its environment it makes living elsewhere very difficult. This is why scientists think that with the degradation of its habitat, N. plumbeus is now likely extinct.
The rat belongs to the family Muridae and has the largest cranial capacity of any African muroid ever sampled.
They also have very large brains compared to their body size and given the average brain size of aquatic rodents.
Status
Threats
The main reason for the population decline of the Ethiopian amphibious rat is habitat loss.
Although not much research has been done on the preexisting population size of this rat species, it can be said the population has declined drastically with the destruction of its habitat. The leading cause for the destruction of Ethiopian highland, wetlands is loss to livestock grazing.
Their habitat is almost completely destroyed due to this clearing for grazing and there is little being done to protect it. Ranching has also contributed to this habitat loss but not to the same scale.
Conservation & further knowledge
At the time there is not much in place in terms of conservation for the Ethiopian amphibious rat.
They are considered critically endangered by the IUCN red list and even possibly extinct.
There is also very little research that has been done on this species. Currently, East African highland small mammals are being studied by Julian Kerbis Peterhans at the Field Museum in Chicago Illinois, USA.
Almost all that is known about this species is taken from a single study that was conducted in the 1920s. More research about this species, its habits, and its environment are needed.
References
Ethiopian water mouse , SMSG - Small Mammal Specialist GroupMammal Species of the World - Browse: plumbeusThe Ethiopian water mouse Nilopegamys Osgood, with comments on semi-aquatic adaptations in African MuridaeScientific Illustration
{{Taxonbar, from=Q257684
Endemic fauna of Ethiopia
Old World rats and mice
Mammals of Ethiopia
Mammals described in 1928
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot