Dasymys

Dasymys is a genus of semiaquatic rodents in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World rats and mice. The genus is endemic to Africa.[1]

Dasymys
Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Recent
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Subfamily: Murinae
Genus: Dasymys
Peters, 1875
Species

about 11, see text

These rats are wetland habitat specialists, occurring in marshy areas with wet ground and thick vegetation, such as swamps and vleis. They swim well. They are nocturnal and solitary.[2] Species are more common in the northern regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, likely because their wetland habitat is more degraded in southern regions.[3]

The genus is not well studied and its taxonomy is not clear. The number of species and their relationships have only been tentatively determined.[2]

Species include:

References

  1. Monatsb. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss., Berlin: 12. In: Wilson, D. E. & D. M. Reeder. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed). Johns Hopkins University Press. 2005.
  2. Mullin, S. K., et al. (2004). Skull size and shape of Dasymys (Rodentia, Muridae) from sub-Saharan Africa. Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine Mammalia 68(2-3), 185-220.
  3. Mullin, S. K., et al. (2005). The distribution of the water rat Dasymys (Muridae) in Africa: a review. Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine South African Journal of Science 101(3), 117-24.


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