Mammals of the WorldChinese Bamboo Rat
Rhizomys sinensis
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Spalacidae
- Genus
- Rhizomys
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- China|Vietnam|Myanmar|Laos?
- Realm
- Palearctic|Indomalaya
About this species
- Size
- Head and body 216–380mm; tail 50–96mm
- Weight
- 1.9kg
- Habitat
- Bamboo thickets, usually at high elevation; pine forest and plantations
- Range
- Southern China, northern Myanmar and northern Vietnam
The Chinese bamboo rat 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. Head and body length is 216 to 380 mm with a tail of 50 to 96 mm, and weight is about 1,875 to 1,950 g (Wikipedia, general species account).
The fur is soft with no guard hairs, unlike the closely related hoary bamboo rat, dark greyish brown on the face and crown, paler on the body, and sparsely haired below. It is solitary except in the breeding season and breeds all year round with a spring peak, litters of two to four young (eight at most) being born naked and weaned at three months. Territory is marked by four to seven soil mounds over plugged entrances, and burrows are 20 to 30 cm deep and up to 45 m long.
Description: Wildlife of Vietnam guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)