Bunn's short-tailed bandicoot rat (''Nesokia bunnii'') is a species of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...
in the family
Muridae
The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
...
. It is found only in the
marshes of southeastern
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and is named for the Iraqi zoologist Dr. Munir K. Bunni.
[Beolens, Bo, et al. The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Cop, 2009, p. 64.] It is feared that the species might have gone extinct due to the
draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes.
References
*
Nesokia
Endemic fauna of Iraq
Mammals described in 1981
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Murinae-stub