Bamboo rat

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bamboo mice are the four rodent species of the Rhizomyinae subfamily. They are the only survivors of the tribe of Rhizomyini . All are found in eastern Asia.

Species are:

• Chinese bamboo rats , Rhizomys sinensis , found in central and southern China, northern Burma, and Vietnam;
• The hoary bamboo rat , R. pruinosus , was found from Assam in India to southeast China and the Malay Peninsula;
• The Sumatra, Indomalayan, or big bamboo rat , R. sumatrensis , was found in Yunnan, Indochina , The Malay Peninsula and Sumatra.
• Lower bamboo mice , Cannomys badius , are found in Nepal, Assam, northern Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and northern Vietnam.

Bamboo mice have varying sizes, from larger bamboo rats, which typically have a length of 15 to 25 cm (head and body: tail length is 6-8 cm), and weigh from 500 to 750 g, to the Sumatran bamboo mice, which can reach a length of nearly 50 cm with a tail of 20 cm, and weigh up to 4 kg. However, they are all large, slow moving rodents that live and feed on large hole systems and rarely spend much time on the ground. They eat underground plant parts. They live at an altitude of 1200 to 4000 m and, except for the lower bamboo rats, feed primarily on bamboo and live in dense bamboo groves. Lower bamboo mice are more variable in their habitats, living in grasslands, forests, and sometimes gardens, and eating a wider range of vegetation.

All the bamboo mice are considered agricultural pests, because they eat the roots of various plant crops such as tapioca, sugarcane, and tea bushes, but they are also recognized as valuable food animals. Chinese bamboo mice are sold in the food market in China.

Bamboo rats are a natural host for disease-causing fungi, Penicillium marneffei , which is endemic in all species in Southeast Asia. In this area, fungal penicilliosis is the third most common opportunistic infection in HIV-positive people.

Video Bamboo rat

References

Maps Bamboo rat

External links

• Giant rats caught in China, with big mouse images

Source of the article : Wikipedia