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Images attached to GBIF records (field photographs), from . Open licences; click for the record.
Bush Karroo Rat
Myotomys unisulcatus (F.Cuvier, 1829)
First described in: In E. Geoffroy and F. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. Mammifères vol.pt. 3 6(60) p.1-2 "Otomys cafre."
The bush vlei rat or Karoo bush rat (Myotomys unisulcatus, formerly Otomys unisulcatus) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Namibia and South Africa. Its natural habitat is temperate shrubland. The Karoo rat uses behavioral adaptations to cope with the dry arid climate. It is a medium-sized rodent with a dark pelage on top and lighter underneath. It has light colored feet and a dark tail. The rat may have light colored fur around its eyes and the back of its ears.
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
discussion
Discussion: A species having a relictual distribution and exhibiting many traits interpreted as plesiomorphic for the subfamily (e. g., Bohmann, 1952). Genetic distance data (Taylor et al., 1989) suggest the inclusion of unisulcatus with species of Parotomys, but sperm morphology (Bernard et al., 1991) indicates its singular differentiation from both the Parotomys and O. irroratus groups. All named forms listed, with reservation, as subspecies by Meester et al. (1986), but allozymic variation unappreciable over species range and erodes validity of these divisions (Van Dyk et al., 1991).
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
distribution
Distribution: Little Namaqualand in W Northern Cape Province, through the Great and Little Karroo, to Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (De Graaff, 1981: 155).
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
materials_examined
Type Locality: South Africa, Western Cape Province, southwestern Karroo, Matjiesfontein, southwest of Laingsburg (as designated by Roberts, 1946: 318).
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
What it does
In the family Muridae the Karoo bush rat has a strong correlation between reproduction, the abundant resources, and the occupation of the stick lodges. Myotomys unisulcatus has very rapid postnatal development and small litters of semi-precocial young. The average litter size is two to three. Weaning begins at eight days of age and reproduction can begin at six weeks for males and five weeks of age for females.
Where it has been recorded
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Myotomys unisulcatus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 4264856.