Pelomys

The furrows tooth -Bach rats ( Pelomys ) are a rodent species from the group of Altweltmäuse ( Murinae ). The genus includes five species.

Furrows tooth -Bach rats reach a body length 10-21 inches, added a 10 to 18 centimeters long tail. The weight varies 50-170 grams. The coat is rough, it is yellow -gray to dark gray in color at the top, often with a greenish iridescent cast. The underside is whitish to light gray. The nose is often brighter than the face, the ears are covered with sparse red hair. The upper incisors are provided with grooves.

These rodents live in the central Africa, their range extends from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Angola and Mozambique. They live in swamps and wet grasslands, often along streams and rivers. Depending on the type, they can be day or night active, to rest, they retreat into self-made sheets or nests in burrows. Their diet consists of grasses and aquatic plants.

There are five types:

• Pelomys Campanae lives in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola in the west.
• Pelomys fallax is common to Angola and Mozambique, Kenya.
• Pelomys hopkinsi inhabited the southwestern Uganda, southwestern Kenya and Rwanda.
• Pelomys isseli is endemic to the islands of Kome, Bugala and Bunyama in Lake Victoria.
• Pelomys minor lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the eastern Angola.

The IUCN lists two species, P. and D. hopkinsi isseli under "too little data available " ( data deficient ), the other three species are common and not endangered.

Systematically, the furrows tooth -Bach rats are classified within the Altweltmäuse in the Arvicanthis group.