The target rat (''Stochomys longicaudatus'') 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 n ...

in the family Muridae. It is the only species in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Stochomys''. Its natural habitat is subtropical or

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

moist lowland forests.

Description

The target rat is a moderately sized rat-like rodent, with a head-body length of and weighing around . The fur is dark reddish-brown over the back, becoming greyish on the flanks, and fading to pale grey on the underparts. The sparsely bristled tail is much longer than the body, being typically in length. Females have six teats. It is so named because it has a number of long dark bristles projecting from its rump which resemble the shafts of arrows in a target. The synonym ''Mus sebastianus'' also refers to this,

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocle ...

being an early Christian martyr said to have been tied to a tree and shot with arrows.

Distribution and habitat

The target rat is native to humid rainforests in tropical western Central Africa at elevations from sea level to . Its range extends from Togo through Benin and Nigeria to the Congo Basin and eastwards to western Uganda. It occurs in swampy areas of forests and in gallery forests and beside streams. It has also been observed in secondary forests around villages and in banana plantations. Two subspecies are currently recognised: * ''S. l. longicaudatus'' (Tullberg 1893) -

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

to the Republic of the Congo * ''S. l. ituricus'' (Thomas, 1915) - the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, Rwanda, Burundi, western

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

Biology and behaviour

The target rat is largely nocturnal and feeds on the ground on green vegetable material and fallen fruit, supplementing these with some insects. In addition to moving along the ground, it often climbs into the rainforest understory, although not high into trees. It has been reported to construct spherical nests of shredded grass. Little is known of the social organisation of this species but in Cameroon a group of thirteen was caught at one location in an

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm '' Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its c ...

plantation. Breeding takes place throughout the year, but may be more common between February and May and between September and December. Litters range from one to four young.

Status

The target rat has a wide range and is a common species. It is presumed to have a large population and no particular threats have been identified. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has rated its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q199019 target rat Mammals of West Africa Mammals of Cameroon Mammals of Equatorial Guinea Mammals of Gabon Mammals of the Central African Republic Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals of the Republic of the Congo Rodents of Africa target rat Taxonomy articles created by Polbot