Mammals of the WorldCommon Soft-furred Rat
Millardia meltada
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Muridae
- Genus
- Millardia
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- Pakistan|India|Nepal|Sri Lanka
- Realm
- Indomalaya
Other names: Common Metad|Soft-furred Field Rat|Soft-furred Metad|Soft-furred Rat
About this species
- Size
- Head and body 13–16cm
- Habitat
- Tropical and subtropical forest and grassland; irrigated croplands and other cultivated areas; sea level to about 2,670m
- Range
- India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
The soft-furred rat, or soft-furred metad, is a rodent native to South Asia with a head and body length of 13–16 cm. The fur is fine and dense, yellowish to brownish grey above and whitish below, and shorter on the underside. The tail is naked, blackish above and paler beneath, and there are many shortish whiskers (Wikipedia, general species account).
It occurs in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, from sea level to about 2,670 m. It lives in tropical and subtropical forests and grasslands and also uses irrigated croplands and other cultivated areas. The cached account gives no information on its diet or breeding (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)