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Golden-bellied water rat - HYDROMYS CHRYSOGASTER
Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Rat": "Rat" comes from the Old English word
"raet," for the animal.
Location: Australia and New Guinea.
Habitat: Freshwater streams and lakes.
Description: The coat is dense and very soft, and often varies in color between males and females. The male has a golden-yellow ventral area. In both sexes the back is a fairly dark brown, tending to black or yellowish, and the tip of the tail is white. The eyes and ears are small, the nostrils can be partly closed, and the hind feet are broad - with the toes partly joined together by a web for swimming. Length of head and body is up to sixteen inches, with the tail adding another foot. It can weigh up to three pounds.
Behavior: This nocturnal and somewhat diurnal rat lives in family groups sharing a burrow, which is a complex network of tunnels. These may be longer than six feet. There may be two main chambers, one used as a storeroom, the other as a residence. Food includes mollusks, crabs, frogs, fishes, and birds.
Reproduction: The mating season occurs in the spring, and after a five week gestation period the female gives birth to four or five young, which she nurses for about five more weeks.
Note: The fur of this animal is highly prized, and, as a result, the species has been almost wiped out in many parts of its range.
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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