Maned Rat
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| Lophiomys imhausi Milne-Edwards, 1867 |
The Maned Rat (or Crested Rat, as it is sometimes known) (Lophiomys imhausi), is a nocturnal, long-haired and bushy-tailed East African rodent that resembles a porcupine.
The Maned Rat's body can grow up to 14 inches long, or 21 inches from head to tail. The coat consists of long, silver and black-tipped guard hairs over a dense, wooly, grey and white undercoat, with the face and limbs having short, black fur. A mane of longer, coarser black-and-white banded hairs extends from the top of the animal's head to just beyond the base of the tail. This mane is bordered by a broad, white-bordered strip of hairs covering an area of glandular skin. When the animal is threatened or excited, the mane erects and this strip parts, exposing the glandular area. The hairs in this area are, at the tips, like ordinary hair, but are otherwise spongy, fibrous, and absorbent. There is conjecture that the glandular secretions absorbed by these hairs may be toxic or poisonous.
Its diet in the wild consists largey of leaves, fruit, and other plant material, but has been known to eat meat, cereals, root vegetables, and insects in captivity. Food is eaten by sitting on its haunches and using its forepaws to bring food items to its mouth.
The habitat of the maned rat ranges from nearly sea level, in Ethiopia and Somalia, to more typically the drier, highland forests and woodlands of Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Fossil remains have been found as far north as Israel, however. They are often found in rocky areas or in hollow tree trunks and holes along the tops of ravines, and have also been found nesting among rocks on cliff-faces.
[edit] References
- Schlitter & Agwanda (2004). Lophiomys imhausi. 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
- Jansa, S. A. and M. Weksler. 2004. Phylogeny of muroid rodents: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP gene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31:256-276.
- Kingdon, Jonathan. East African Mammals. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974. 519-526.
- "maned rat." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 7 Jan. 2007 http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9050504/maned-rat.
[edit] External links
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