A medium sized rat, similar in coloration to the black rat. The pelage is short, upperparts are blackish-grey, underparts are grey-white to yellowish-white. The ears are rounded and protrusive. The tail appears naked and is dark grey above, light grey to white underneath. It may be distinguished from the black rat by the bi-colored tail. (Garbutt, 1999)
Head/Body Length |
12.5-17cm |
|---|---|
Tail Length |
15-17.5cm |
Weight |
70-125g |
They appear strictly terrestrial and nocturnal. Probably they forage for seeds and fallen fruits.
They live in burrows up to a meter deep which usually ends in one chamber used for food storage.
They range from 500-1800m.
Mammalia -> Rodentia -> Muridae (Nesomyinae/Gymnuromyinae) -> Gymnuromys roberti
Garbutt, N. 1999, Mammals of Madagascar, Yale University Press
IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre, viewed in July 2000, "Threatened Animals of the World", IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals
-- Other Mammals -- RNP Main -- Comments --