Malacomys

The Big-eared Swamp Rat ( Malacomys ) are a rodent species from the group of Altweltmäuse ( Murinae ). The genus includes three species.

General

Named giving feature of these rodents are large, hairless ears, the skull is elongated, the hind legs are long and thin and hairless tail too long. Their fur is very soft and silky, the back is dark brown, the flanks are lighter and the belly whitish. The animals reach a body length 12-19 cm, a tail length of 12 to 22 inches and a weight of 50 to 150 grams.

Big-eared Swamp Rat live in the central Africa, their range extends from Guinea to Uganda, and northern Zambia. Their habitat are lined with dense vegetation areas adjacent to water bodies. They are nocturnal and rest during the day in self-made nests of grasses and leaves, they invest in crevices or in the root of the trees. You can climb well. Their diet consists of approximately equal parts of plant and animal material, so they eat fruits, seeds and nuts, but also insects, snails and crabs.

System

According to Wilson & Reeder (2005) take the Big-eared Swamp Rat within the Altweltmäuse an isolated position and is therefore classified in a separate genus group of Malacomys group. Genetic studies of Lecompte et al. (2008) have confirmed this position, lead the class in a separate tribe, the Malacomyini.

The genus is divided into three types:

• Malacomys cansdalei lives in West Africa from Liberia to Ghana.
• Malacomys edwardsi is distributed from Guinea to Nigeria.
• Malacomys longipes comes from Nigeria prior to Uganda and Zambia.

Two other species, M. and M. lukolelae verschureni are today usually classified into Praomys.

None of the three species is endangered according to IUCN.