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Crested rat - LOPHIOMYS IMHAUSI
Possibly Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Rat": "Rat" comes from the Old English word
"raet," for the animal.
Location: Central Eastern Africa.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Thick forest, and also on the edge of scrub-covered terrain.
Description: This is a brightly colored rat with long, soft fur. There is an erectile strip of fur that runs from the head to the tail along the central part of the back. The head has a broad white band across it and the long, bushy tail is blackish with a white tip. On each side of the body, along a line of lateral skin glands, there is a thin stripe of whitish fur. The head and ears are small, as are all the limbs. This rat can grow up to fourteen inches long, with another seven inches added on for its tail. It can weigh a huge seven pounds!
Behavior: With its partly opposable thumb, this solitary, slow-moving rat has adapted well to tree-climbing, and it can descend a tree head first. Although it spends a great deal of its time in trees, it makes its nest among rocks or in holes dug in the ground. It is vegetarian, with a preference for shoots and tender young leaves. It is completely nocturnal. It has a specific cry - one or two hisses followed by a short snarl.
Reproduction: Nothing is known about its reproductive biology or behavior.
Note: This unusually distinctive rodent is the only species in its own subfamily.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
Or go to the Rat Index to study other
rats.
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