The bamboo rats are four species of rodents of the subfamily Rhizomyinae. They are the sole living representatives of the tribe Rhizomyini. All are found in the eastern half of Asia. Families See Classification Section The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. ... Genera Rhizomys Cannomys Tachyoryctes The subfamily Rhizomyinae of rodents includes the Asian bamboo rats and certain of the African mole rats. ... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia. ...

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 Yunnan, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra.
• The Lesser Bamboo Rat, Cannomys badius, found in Nepal, Assam, northern Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and northern Vietnam.

Bamboo rats vary in size, from the Lesser Bamboo Rat which is typically 15 to 25 cm long (head and body: tail length is 6–8 cm), and weighs from 500 to 750 g, to the Sumatra Bamboo Rat, which can reach lengths of nearly 50 cm with a 20 cm tail, and weighs up to 4 kg. However they are all bulky, slow-moving rodents that live and forage in extensive burrow systems and rarely spend much time above ground. They feed on the underground parts of plants. They live at altitudes of 1200 to 4000 m and, except for the Lesser Bamboo Rat, feed principally on bamboo and live in dense bamboo thickets. The Lesser Bamboo Rat is more variable in its habitat, living in grassy areas, forests, and sometimes gardens, and eats a wider variety of vegetation. Assam (অসম) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur. ... The Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Tanah Melayu) is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. ... Yunnan (Simplified Chinese: 云南; Traditional Chinese: 雲南; pinyin: ) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwestern corner of the country. ... Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a large peninsula in Southeast Asia. ... The Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Tanah Melayu) is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the largest part of Indonesia. ... Assam (অসম) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ...

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. Tapioca is an essentially flavourless starchy ingredient, or fecula, produced from treated and dried cassava (manioc) root and used in cooking. ... Species Ref: ITIS 42058 as of 2004-05-05 Sugarcane is one of six species of a tall tropical southeast Asian grass (Family Poaceae) having stout fibrous jointed stalks whose sap at one time was the primary source of sugar. ... A hot cup of tea A tea bush. ...

The bamboo rats are the natural hosts for the disease-causing mold, Penicillium marneffei, important in relation to AIDS, which is endemic in all species in South-east Asia. Moldy cream cheese Molds, or moulds, are various fungi that cover surfaces as fluffy mycelium and usually produce masses of asexual, sometimes sexual spores. ... Binomial name Penicillium marneffei Segretain Penicillium species are usually regarded as unimportant in terms of causing disease. ... The Red Ribbon is the global symbol for solidarity with HIV positive and people living with AIDS. The Red Ribbon was created by the late New York-based painter Frank Moore. ...

What may have been a 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. The giant rat of Sumatra appears as a brief passing reference in one of Sherlock Holmes adventures by Arthur Conan Doyle: Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson, said Holmes in a reminiscent voice. ... Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes (1854-1957, according to William S. Baring-Gould) is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, created by British author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ... The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire, one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes. ...