Dassie Rat
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| iDassie Rat |
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| Petromus typicus A. Smith, 1831 |
The Dassie Rat, Petromus typicus, is an African rodent found among rocky outcroppings. It is the only living member of its genus, Petromus, and family, Petromuridae. The name "dassie" means "badger" in Afrikaans, but the term may be a reference to hyraxes, which are found in similar habitats. Petromus means "rock mouse" and dassie rats are one of many rodents that are sometimes called rock rats. The family and genus names are sometimes misspelled as Petromyidae and Petromys.
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[edit] Characteristics
Dassie rats are squirrel-like in appearance. Their tails are hairy, but not bushy whereas the soles of their feet are distinctly bare and have pads. Their heads are noticeably flattened. The overall coloration can be a range of browns, greys, or almost black. The nose is yellowish and tends to stand out. They have no underfur. The teats are located on the sides of the torso, which allows the young to feed from the side when crammed in a narrow rock crevice.
[edit] Natural history
Dassie rats are restricted to rocky outcrops in Namibia, parts of Angola and northwest South Africa. They are famous for being able to squeeze into extremely narrow crevices. This is accomplished due to their flattened skulls and flexible ribs.
Dassie rats feed primarily on grassy parts, but will sometimes eat fruits, seeds, and leaves. They have high crowned and rooted cheek teeth.
[edit] Relatives
Dassie rats are the only remaining members of a once diverse family that first appeared in the Oligocene of Africa. Both morphological and molecular studies suggest the closest living relatives to the dassie rats are the African cane rats in the family Thryonomyidae. These two families along with related fossil families such as †Phiomyidae represented an important early radiation of rodents in Africa.
[edit] References
- Griffin & Coetzee (2004). Petromus typicus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
- Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press Limited, London.
- McKenna, Malcolm C., and Bell, Susan K. 1997. Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press, New York, 631 pp. ISBN 0-231-11013-8
- Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London.
