| Chinese bamboo rat | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Spalacidae |
| Genus: | Rhizomys |
| Species: | R. sinensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhizomys sinensis J. E. Gray, 1831 | |
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The Chinese bamboo rat (Rhizomys sinensis) is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae found in southern China, northern Myanmar, and northern Vietnam. Its habitat is bamboo thickets usually at high elevations, pine forests, and plantations. [1]
The head and body length is 216 to 380 mm (8.5 to 15.0 in) with a tail of 50 to 96 mm (2.0 to 3.8 in) and the weight is 1,875 to 1,950 g (66.1 to 68.8 oz). The fur is soft with no guard hairs as are seen in the closely related hoary bamboo rat (Rhizomys pruinosus). On the side of the face and the crown the fur is dark greyish brown and on the body paler greyish brown. The under parts are scantily haired. [2]
The Chinese bamboo rat is solitary, except during the breeding season. It breeds all year round, with a spring peak; litters of two to four young (eight maximum) are born naked, and are weaned at three months. Territory is marked by four to seven soil mounds marking plugged entrances (20 to 40 cm high and 50 to 80 cm across). Burrows are 20 to 30 cm deep and up to 45 m long. Escape tunnels are always at the ready, loosely plugged with soil. The nest chamber is 20 to 25 cm across and is lined with bamboo leaves. Mostly, it feeds on bamboo shoots and roots, usually on the surface, and moves on after about a year as the food supply becomes depleted. [2] Predators include the snow leopard and the red panda. [1]
The Chinese bamboo rat has a very wide range, is common in some localities, is considered a plantation pest in parts of China, and is presumed to have a large total population. The main threat it faces is being hunted by humans for food. [1] The Chinese bamboo rat has been farmed since the 1990s as a source of meat in southern China. In 2011, the number of farmed animals was more than 30 million in China, mainly distributed in the Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Zhejiang Provinces. [3] The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as being of "least concern". [1]
Not much is known about the parasites of the Chinese Bamboo rat. The protozoans Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis and the nematode Trichinella spiralis have been reported. [3] A 2021 study revealed that 4.6 % of farmed animals Hunan Province, south-central China, were infected by the protozoan parasite Blastocystis sp., a zoonotic pathogen. [3]
The rodent subfamily Rhizomyinae includes the Asian bamboo rats and certain of the African mole-rats. The subfamily is grouped with the Spalacinae and the Myospalacinae into a family of fossorial muroid rodents basal to the other Muroidea.
The bamboo rats are four species of rodents of the subfamily Rhizomyinae. They are the sole living representatives of the tribe Rhizomyini. These species are found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia.
The Spalacidae, or spalacids, are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. They are native to eastern Asia, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and southeastern Europe. It includes the blind mole-rats, bamboo rats, mole-rats, and zokors. This family represents the oldest split in the muroid superfamily, and comprises animals adapted to a subterranean way of life. These rodents were thought to have evolved adaptations to living underground independently until recent genetic studies demonstrated they form a monophyletic group. Members of the Spalacidae are often placed in the family Muridae along with all other members of the Muroidea.
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A kangaroo mouse is either one of the two species of jumping mouse native to the deserts of the southwestern United States, predominantly found in the state of Nevada. The name "kangaroo mouse" refers to the species' extraordinary jumping ability, as well as its habit of bipedal locomotion. The two species are:
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The lesser bamboo rat is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is monotypic within the genus Cannomys. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand.
The Chinese zokor is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to China, ranging from Qinghai Province eastwards to Beijing in steppe and alpine grasslands. Henri Milne-Edwards first described it in 1867. Eradication programs in the 1990s in Qinghai Province resulted in a population decline to less than a third of the former population. It is considered common and has been assessed as Least Concern by IUCN.
The hoary bamboo rat is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae found in Southeast Asia, East Asia (China) and South Asia (India).
The thick-tailed three-toed jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Its typical habitat is steppe, desert and mountain grassland where it is often found among saltbush and Artemisia in sandy or clayey soils.
Blastocystis is a genus of single-celled parasites belonging to the Stramenopiles that includes algae, diatoms, and water molds. There are several species, living in the gastrointestinal tracts of species as diverse as humans, farm animals, birds, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and cockroaches. Blastocystis has low host specificity, and many different species of Blastocystis can infect humans, and by current convention, any of these species would be identified as Blastocystis hominis.
Blastocystosis refers to a medical condition caused by infection with Blastocystis. Blastocystis is a protozoal, single-celled parasite that inhabits the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and other animals. Many different types of Blastocystis exist, and they can infect humans, farm animals, birds, rodents, amphibians, reptiles, fish, and even cockroaches. Blastocystosis has been found to be a possible risk factor for development of irritable bowel syndrome.
The common mole-rat, African mole-rat, or Hottentot mole-rat, is a burrowing rodent found in Southern Africa, in particular in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It also occurs in Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is a species in the subfamily Bathyerginae.
Proteromonas is a genus of single-celled biflagellated microbial eukaryotes belonging to the Superphylum Stramenopiles which are characterized by the presence of tripartite, hair-like structures on the anteriorly-directed larger of the two flagella. Proteromonas on the other hand are notable by having tripartite hairs called somatonemes not on the flagella but on the posterior of the cell. Proteromonas are closely related to Karotomorpha and Blastocystis, which belong to the Opalines group.
Dendrocalamus asper, also known as giant bamboo or dragon bamboo, is a giant, tropical, clumping species of bamboo native to Southeast Asia. In addition to its prolific nature across Asia, the plant's overall attractive appearance has seen this species introduced widely across South America and Africa, as well as Mexico and Florida. One advantage of this bamboo, especially for gardens, is its natural growth habit as a sympodial, colony-forming plant. Overall this bamboo maintains its own "personal" growing space, and does not grow laterally (runners), thus posing less risk of being environmentally-invasive.
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