Greater Bandicoot-rat

About the Greater Bandicoot-rat

The greater bandicoot rat or Indian bandicoot rat (Bandicota indica) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Bangladesh, China, India, eastern Pakistan, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

It can grow to about 30–45 cm without including the tail which can grow to 28 cm. These should not be confused with marsupial bandicoots which inhabit Australia and neighbouring New Guinea, which were named after the bandicota rats.

The greater bandicoot rat has a dark gray-brown upper parts with a profusion of long, black hairs. Sides are gray with a few long, black hairs. Short, light gray fur occurs on the ventral surfaces. It has a dark and naked, scaly tail, and dark feet with light-colored claws. The young are much lighter in colour.

In Sinhala, the bandicoot rat is known as maha uru-meeya - මහ ඌරු මීයා, and in Malayalam, it is known as panni-eli - പന്നിയെലി, thorappan തോരപ്പൻ. Both names directly translate to "pig-rat". These are one of several animals called chuchundra in the Nepali language.

A female has between 8 and 10 litters during her life. The young (8–14 rat pups per litter) are born... Wikipedia →