''Zyzomys'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

s with unusually thick, long tails. Five

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the

are known in Australia, where they are called rock rats or thick-tailed rats. The genus was classified by

Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...

in 1909.

Taxonomy

There are five known species of rock-rat. The central rock rat (''Zyzomys pedunculatus'') was once believed to be extinct until rediscovered in 1996. *

Silver-tailed rock rat The common rock rat (''Zyzomys argurus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia, where it lives in the rocky areas of woodlands, grasslands and low open forests, particularly on the talus, or scree, of cliff ...

, ''Zyzomys argurus'' *

Arnhem Land rock rat The Arnhem Land rock rat (''Zyzomys maini'') also known as the Arnhem rock-rat and by the Indigenous Australian name of kodjperr is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the Top End Region of the Northern Territory in Aust ...

, ''Zyzomys maini'' *

Carpentarian rock rat The Carpentarian rock rat (''Zyzomys palatalis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia. Taxonomy The description of the species was published by Darrell Kitchener in 1989, emerging from a revision of the g ...

, ''Zyzomys palatilis'' * Central rock rat, ''Zyzomys pedunculatus'' *

Kimberley rock rat The Kimberley rock rat (''Zyzomys woodwardi'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia, specifically in the northern tropical part of the Northern Territory and adjacent Kimberley region of Western Australia ...

, ''Zyzomys woodwardi''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q782897 Rodent genera Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas