African grass rat

African grass rat

Order : Rodentia
Suborder : Sciurognathi
Family : Muridae
Subfamily : Murinae
Species : Arvicanthis niloticus

 

The African grass rat is listed as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category, on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Namings for the African grass rat
A young / baby of a African grass rat is called a 'kitten, nestling, pinkie or pup'. The females are called 'doe' and males 'buck'. A African grass rat group is called a 'colony, horde, pack, plague or swarm'.
Some facts about the
Nile kusu

Adult weight : 0.11 kg (0.242 lbs)

Maximum longevity : 7 years

Female maturity :45 days

Male maturity : 45 days

Gestation : 22 days

Weaning : 23 days

Litter size : 5

Litters per year : 4

Interval between litters : 38 days

Weight at birth : 0.004 kg (0.0088 lbs)

Weight at weaning : 0.022 kg (0.0484 lbs)

Source: AnAge, licensed under CC

Facts about the African grass rat

Most authorities agree that there are probably five distinct species, all hailing from tropical Africa, of which Arvicanthis niloticus is by far the commonest in captivity and realistically the only one you are likely to encounter.

Nile or African grass rat Arvicanthis niloticus is a vole-like rat with a stout body, coarse fur and short legs.

PHD 309 The Nile grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) is a common grassland rodent widely distributed in subsaharan Africa and an important reservoir for plague (Yersinia pestis).

The Nile Rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) is being incriminated as the reservoir host for VL in Sudan (Hoogstraal & Heyneman, 1969; El- Hassan et al. (Full text)

The Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) is a serious agricultural pest on some parts of Africa. (Full text)

Most recent taxonomic revisions list five to six species but the definition of some of these (Arvicanthis dembeensis, Arvicanthis nairobae, and Arvicanthis niloticus) is uncertain. (Full text)

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