Bamboo Rats | ||||||||||||
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Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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Species | ||||||||||||
Rhizomys sinensis Rhizomys pruinosus Rhizomys sumatrensis Cannomys badius |
The bamboo rats are four species of rodents of the family Rhizomyidae. All are found in the eastern half of Asia.
The species are:
- The Chinese Bamboo Rat, Rhizomys sinensis, found in central and southern China, northern Burma, and Vietnam;
- The Hoary Bamboo Rat, R. pruinosus, found from Assam in India to southeastern China and the Malay Peninsula;
- The Sumatra or Large Bamboo Rat, R. sumatrensis, found in Burma, Thailand, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra.
- The Lesser Bamboo Rat, Cannomys badius, found in Nepal, Assam, northern Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos, and northern Vietnam.
All the bamboo rats are regarded as agricultural pests, since they eat the roots of a range of crop plants such as tapioca, sugar cane, and tea bushes, but they are also recognised as valuable food animals. The Chinese Bamboo Rat are sold in food markets in China.
The bamboo rats are the natural hostss for the disease-causing mold, Penicillium marneffei, important in relation to AIDS, which is endemic in all species in South-east Asia.
The Sumatran Bamboo Rat makes a one-line appearance (as the Giant Rat of Sumatra) in the Sherlock Holmes story, The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.