bandicoot rat
-
What is a bandicoot rat?
A bandicoot rat is any of five species of Asiatic rodents that are closely associated with humans. The greater bandicoot rat (Bandicota indica) is the largest, with a blackish-brown body 19 to 33 cm long, not including the scantily haired tail. The lesser bandicoot rat (B. bengalensis) and Savileās bandicoot rat (B. savilei) have dark brown or brownish-gray body fur and measure up to 40 cm long, including their brown tails.
These terrestrial species are nocturnal or active at twilight, constructing burrows where they nest and bear litters of 2 to 18 young. They eat grains, fruit, and invertebrates and can be destructive to crops.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where are bandicoot rats found in the world?
Bandicoot rats are Asiatic rodents closely associated with human populations. The greater bandicoot rat can be found on the Indian subcontinent and throughout Indochina. Additional populations on the Malay Peninsula, Taiwan, and Java are likely the result of human introduction.
The lesser bandicoot rat is native to the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. It has been introduced to Pinang Island, northern Sumatra, eastern Java, Saudi Arabia, and Patta Island in Kenya. Savileās bandicoot rat, on the other hand, is only found on the mainland of Southeast Asia. The short-tailed bandicoot rat's range extends from northern Bangladesh through Central Asia to northeastern Egypt and also north of the Himalayas from Turkmenistan to western China.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What do bandicoot rats look like?
Bandicoot rats are Asiatic rodents closely associated with humans. The greater bandicoot rat (Bandicota indica) is the largest, weighing 0.5 to 1 kg. Its shaggy, blackish-brown body is 19 to 33 cm long, with a scantily haired tail of about the same length.
The lesser bandicoot rat (B. bengalensis) and Savileās bandicoot rat (B. savilei) have dark brown or brownish-gray fur, weigh up to 350 grams, and measure up to 40 cm long, including their brown tails. The short-tailed bandicoot rat, or pest rat (N. indica) is almost the size of the lesser bandicoot rat, with soft brown fur and a short tail. N. bunnii is as large as the greater bandicoot rat, with thick fur and a very long tail relative to body length.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What do bandicoot rats eat?
Bandicoot rats are rodents that are closely associated with humans. Three species of bandicoot rats, the greater bandicoot rat, the lesser bandicoot rat, and Savileās bandicoot rat, eat grains, fruits, and invertebrates. They are known to be destructive to cultivated crops. The short-tailed bandicoot rat forages on bulbs and succulent roots, rarely emerging above ground, and cause extensive damage to grain crops.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do bandicoot rats affect agriculture or human settlements?
Bandicoot rats, particularly the greater bandicoot rat (Bandicota indica) and the lesser bandicoot rat (B. bengalensis), are closely associated with human populations and can have significant impacts on agriculture and human settlements. These rodents consume grains, fruits, and invertebrates, leading to crop damage. The lesser bandicoot rat is known for its aggressive burrowing behavior, which can cause damage to structures such as rice warehouses. The short-tailed bandicoot rat (N. indica) damages grain crops by foraging on bulbs and roots from extensive tunnels.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How are bandicoot rats different from regular rats?
Bandicoot rats are Asiatic rodents closely associated with humans, while regular rats can refer to various species found worldwide. Greater bandicoot rats (Bandicota indica) are larger, weighing 0.5 to 1 kg, with shaggy, blackish-brown bodies measuring 19 to 33 cm, and are found on the Indian subcontinent and throughout Indochina.
Lesser bandicoot rats (B. bengalensis) and Savileās bandicoot rats (B. savilei) are smaller, weighing up to 350 grams and measuring up to 40 cm, with dark brown or brownish-gray fur. Short-tailed bandicoot rats (N. indica) have soft brown fur and short tails and live in arid regions from northern Bangladesh through Central Asia to northeastern Egypt. Bandicoot rats inhabit cultivated land and urban buildings, while other rat species may be found in diverse environments.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
bandicoot rat, any of five Asiatic species of rodents closely associated with human populations. The greater bandicoot rat (Bandicota indica) is the largest, weighing 0.5 to 1 kg (1.1 to 2.2 pounds). The shaggy, blackish brown body is 19 to 33 cm (7.5 to 13 inches) long, not including a scantily haired tail of about the same length. Greater bandicoot rats are found on the Indian subcontinent and throughout Indochina; additional populations on the Malay Peninsula, Taiwan, and Java probably represent inadvertent or intentional human introductions.
The lesser bandicoot rat (B. bengalensis) and Savileās bandicoot rat (B. savilei) have dark brown or brownish gray body fur, weigh up to 350 grams, and measure up to 40 cm long including their brown tails. The lesser bandicoot rat is found on the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), and Myanmar (Burma) and has been introduced on Pinang Island off the western coast of the Malay Peninsula, northern Sumatra, eastern Java, Saudi Arabia, and Patta Island in Kenya. Savileās bandicoot rat, on the other hand, occurs only on the mainland of Southeast Asia. These three terrestrial species are nocturnal or active at twilight, constructing burrows where they nest and where they bear their litters, which number from 2 to 18. They subsist on grains, fruit, and invertebrates and are destructive to cultivated crops. The lesser bandicoot rat, an especially aggressive burrower, has been reported to make tunnels in the concrete cellars of rice warehouses in Calcutta.
Except for one population of Savileās bandicoot rat found in the grass beneath a teak forest in Thailand, no population of bandicoot rats has been recorded in a native habitat. Instead, bandicoot rats now inhabit cultivated land, and the lesser bandicoot rat also thrives in urban buildings. Adaptation to tropical forests was probably not a part of their evolutionary history, as forest-dwelling species of rats cannot make the transition from pristine forest to cultivated field and are rarely associated with humans. Original habitats for the bandicoot rats were probably ecologically similar to the man-made environments where they are now found, as many planted crops or fallow fields resemble native grassland, rice fields are marshlike, and orchards may approximate scrub or open forest.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
Of the two species of Nesokia, the short-tailed bandicoot rat, or pest rat (N. indica), is almost the size of the lesser bandicoot rat, with soft brown fur and a short tail. Its range extends from northern Bangladesh through Central Asia to northeastern Egypt and also north of the Himalayas from Turkmenistan to western China. Inhabiting cultivated fields and natural grasslands in generally arid regions, the rats excavate extensive tunnels just below the surface and push up mounds of earth at intervals that conceal entrances and exits. They forage on bulbs and succulent roots, rarely emerging above ground, and cause extensive damage to grain crops. N. bunnii, however, is as large as the greater bandicoot rat, with thick fur and a very long tail relative to body length. An excellent swimmer, it lives in natural marshes at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southeastern Iraq and builds nests on reed platforms above water level.
All bandicoot rats belong to the subfamily Murinae of the family Muridae within the order Rodentia.