Dasymys

Dasymys Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Recent
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Tribe:	Arvicanthini
Genus:	Dasymys Peters, 1875
Type species
Dasymys gueinzii[1]
Species
about 11, see text

Dasymys is a genus of semiaquatic rodents in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World rats and mice. The genus is endemic to Africa.^[1]

These rats are wetland habitat specialists, occurring in marshy areas with wet ground and thick vegetation, such as swamps and vleis. They swim well. They are nocturnal and solitary.^[2] Species are more common in the northern regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, likely because their wetland habitat is more degraded in southern regions.^[3]

The genus is not well studied and its taxonomy is not clear. The number of species and their relationships have only been tentatively determined.^[2]

Species include:

• Dasymys alleni – Glover Allen's dasymys
• Dasymys cabrali – Crawford-Cabral's dasymys
• Dasymys foxi – Fox's shaggy rat
• Dasymys incomtus – African marsh rat
• Dasymys montanus – Montane shaggy rat
• Dasymys nudipes – Angolan marsh rat
• Dasymys robertsii - Robert's shaggy rat
• Dasymys rufulus – West African shaggy rat
• Dasymys rwandae – Rwandan dasymys
• Dasymys shortridgei
• Dasymys sua – Tanzanian dasymys

References

1. Monatsb. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss., Berlin: 12. In: Wilson, D. E. & D. M. Reeder. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed). Johns Hopkins University Press. 2005.
2. Mullin, S. K., et al. (2004). Skull size and shape of Dasymys (Rodentia, Muridae) from sub-Saharan Africa. Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine Mammalia 68(2-3), 185-220.
3. Mullin, S. K., et al. (2005). The distribution of the water rat Dasymys (Muridae) in Africa: a review. Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine South African Journal of Science 101(3), 117-24.