Indian bush rat

Species of rodent

Indian bush rat
At Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Genus: Golunda
Species:
G. ellioti
Binomial name
Golunda ellioti
Gray, 1837

The Indian bush rat (Golunda ellioti) is a rodent species in the family Muridae. It is the only extant member of the genus Golunda, and is the only extant member of the tribe Arvicanthini found outside of Africa.[2]

The species is widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent west to Kohat and east to Guwahati. It also occurs in Sri Lanka. In addition, an isolated population exists in southeastern Iran. As many as 11 subspecies are recognized.[3][4][1]

The genus name is derived from the Kannada name of Gulandi while the specific name is after Sir Walter Elliot.[5] The nominate form is from southern India. Other forms include limitaris (northwestern limits), paupera (Punjab), watsoni (Sind), gujerati (Gujarat), bombax (Bombay), coraginis (Coorg), coffaeus (Sri Lanka), newera (Sri Lanka), myiothrix (Nepal) and coenosa (Bhutan Duars, Hasimara).[4]

Description

Head and body length is 12–14 cm. Tail is 9–11. Yellowish brown upperparts are speckled with black and reddish yellow. Ventral surface grayish with a yellowish speckle. Orange-yellow incisor teeth. Tail, dark above and yellowish below. Body fur spiny. Rounded head with a blunt nose, with small eyes mark. Relatively short bill.

References

  1. ^ a b Molur, S. & Nameer, P.O. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Golunda ellioti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T9303A115091717. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T9303A22420024.en. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  2. ^ Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1322. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ^ Oldfield, T. (1923). "Scientific results from the Mammal Survey. No. XLII. The distribution and geographical races of the Gulandi Bush Rats (Golunda ellioti)". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 29: 373–376.
  4. ^ a b Ellerman, J.R. (1941). The families and genera of living rodents. Vol. 2. Family Muridae. London: British Museum (Natural History). pp. 267–268.
  5. ^ Blanford, W.T. (1891). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 427–428.
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Extant species of subfamily Murinae (Colomys–Golunda)
Colomys
Division
Colomys
  • African wading rat (C. goslingi)
Nilopegamys
  • Ethiopian amphibious rat (N. plumbeus)
Zelotomys
(Stink mice)
  • Hildegarde's broad-headed mouse (Z. hildegardeae)
  • Woosnam's broad-headed mouse (Z. woosnami)
Crunomys
Division
Crunomys
  • Celebes shrew-rat (C. celebensis)
  • Northern Luzon shrew-rat (C. fallax)
  • Mindanao shrew-rat (C. melanius)
  • Katanglad shrew-mouse (C. suncoides)
Sommeromys
  • Sommer's Sulawesi rat (S. macrorhinos)
Dacnomys
Division
Anonymomys
  • Mindoro climbing rat (A. mindorensis)
Chiromyscus
  • Fea's tree rat (C. chiropus)
Dacnomys
  • Millard's rat (D. millardi)
Leopoldamys
(Long-tailed
giant rats)
  • Sundaic mountain leopoldamys (L. ciliatus)
  • Diwangkara's long-tailed giant rat (L. diwangkarai)
  • Edwards's long-tailed giant rat (L. edwardsi)
  • Millet's leopoldamys (L. milleti)
  • Neill's long-tailed giant rat (L. neilli)
  • Long-tailed giant rat (L. sabanus)
  • Mentawai long-tailed giant rat (L. siporanus)
Niviventer
(White-bellied rats)
  • Anderson's white-bellied rat (N. andersoni)
  • Brahma white-bellied rat (N. brahma)
  • Cameron Highlands white-bellied rat (N. cameroni)
  • Chinese white-bellied rat (N. confucianus)
  • Coxing's white-bellied rat (N. coninga)
  • Dark-tailed tree rat (N. cremoriventer)
  • Oldfield white-bellied rat (N. culturatus)
  • Smoke-bellied rat (N. eha)
  • Large white-bellied rat (N. excelsior)
  • Montane Sumatran white-bellied rat (N. fraternus)
  • Chestnut white-bellied rat (N. fulvescens)
  • Limestone rat (N. hinpoon)
  • Lang Bian white-bellied rat (N. langbianis)
  • Narrow-tailed white-bellied rat (N. lepturus)
  • Hainan white-bellied rat (N. lotipes)
  • White-bellied rat (N. niviventer)
  • Long-tailed mountain rat (N. rapit)
  • Tenasserim white-bellied rat (N. tenaster)
Saxatilomys
  • Paulina's limestone rat (S. paulinae)
Srilankamys
  • Ohiya rat (S. ohiensis)
Tonkinomys
  • Daovantien's limestone rat (T. daovantieni)
Dasymys
Division
Dasymys
(Shaggy
swamp rats)
  • Glover Allen's dasymys (D. alleni)
  • Crawford-Cabral's shaggy rat (D. cabrali)
  • Fox's shaggy rat (D. foxi)
  • African marsh rat (D. incomtus)
  • Montane shaggy rat (D. montanus)
  • Angolan marsh rat (D. nudipes)
  • Robert's shaggy rat (D. robertsii)
  • West African shaggy rat (D. rufulus)
  • Rwandan shaggy rat (D. rwandae)
  • D. shortridgei
  • Tanzanian shaggy rat (D. sua)
Echiothrix
Division
Echiothrix
  • Central Sulawesi echiothrix (E. centrosa)
  • Northern Sulawesi echiothrix (E. leucura)
Golunda
Division
Golunda
  • Indian bush rat (G. ellioti)
See also
Aethomys–Chrotomys
Hadromys–Maxomys
Melasmothrix–Mus
Oenomys–Pithecheir
Pogonomys–Pseudomys
Rattus
Stenocephalomys–Xeromys
Otomys
Others
Taxon identifiers
Golunda ellioti


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