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Vlei Rats
Otomys
African vlei rats (Otomys), also known as groove-toothed rats, live in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Most species live in marshlands, grasslands, and similar habitats and feed on the vegetation of such areas, occasionally supplementing it with roots and seeds. The name "vlei" refers to the South African term for intermittent, seasonal, or perennial bodies of standing water.
28 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 28 known species
Southern Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys irroratus
Karoo Bushrat
speciesOtomys unisulcatus
Sloggett's Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys sloggetti
Southeastern Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys auratus
Angoni vlei rat
speciesOtomys angoniensis
Mount Kilimanjaro vlei rat
speciesOtomys zinki
Saunders's vlei rat
speciesOtomys karoensis
Afroalpine Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys orestes
Heller's Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys helleri
Udzungwa Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys uzungwensis
Rwenzori Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys dartmouthi
Ethiopian Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys typus
Tanzanian Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys lacustris
Tropical Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys tropicalis
Angolan vlei rat
speciesOtomys anchietae
laminate vlei rat
speciesOtomys laminatus
Barbour's Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys barbouri
Cuanza Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys cuanzensis
Willan's Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys willani
Mount Elgon Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys jacksoni
Thomas's Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys thomasi
Yalden's Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys yaldeni
Charada Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys fortior
Simien Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys simiensis
western vlei rat
speciesOtomys occidentalis
Burton's Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys burtoni
Dent's vlei rat
speciesOtomys denti
Cheesman's Vlei Rat
speciesOtomys cheesmani
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Otomys in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 45433.