Bandicoot Rat
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
| Bandicoot Rat | ||||||||||||||||
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| Bandicota bengalensis |
The Bandicoot rat, Bandicota bengalensis, is a giant rat of southern Asia, not related to a true bandicoot. It is considered a pest in the grain crops and gardens of India and Sri Lanka, and emits piglike grunts when attacking. Bandicoot rats are members of the family Muridae along with the better known rats in the genus Rattus. The fur is dark or (rarely) pale brown dorsally, occasionally blackish, and light to dark grey ventrally. The head+body length is around 250 mm, and the uniformly dark tail is shorter than the head+body length.
