The Gambian pouch rat, Cricetomys gambianus, also known as the African Giant Pouch rat, is a nocturnal pouched rat native to Africa. It is the largest rat in the world, growing to be as big as a raccoon and weighing up to 9 lbs. They have very poor eyesight and so depend on their senses of smell and hearing. Their name comes from the large, hamster-like pouches in their cheeks. They are not true rats (subfamily Murinae), but are part of a uniquely African radiation of muroid rodents. Scientific classification - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Bilateria Acoelomorpha Orthonectida Rhombozoa ?Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia    Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary... Families Many, see text The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. ... Families see text Muroidea is a large superfamily of rodents. ... Subfamilies see text Nesomyidae is a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. ... Genera Beamys Cricetomys Saccostomus Pouched rats are a group of African rodents in the subfamily Cricetomyinae. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... George Robert Waterhouse (1810 - 1888) was an English naturalist. ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Genera Beamys Cricetomys Saccostomus Pouched rats are a group of African rodents in the subfamily Cricetomyinae. ... Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earths surface. ... Binomial name Procyon lotor (Linnaeus, 1758) The common raccoon (Procyon lotor), also known as the northern raccoon or just raccoon or coon, is a mammal native to the Americas. ... Genera Cricetus Mesocricetus Cricetulus Phodopus This article is about the animal. ... This is an article about wild rats; for pet rats, see Fancy rat Species 50 species; see text *Several subfamilies of Muroids include animals called rats. ... Genera see text The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. ... Families see text Muroidea is a large superfamily of rodents. ...

In their native Africa, these rats live in colonies of up to twenty strong, usually in forests and thickets, but also commonly in termite mounds. They are completely omnivorous, feeding on vegetables, insects, crabs, snails, and other items, but apparently preferring palm fruits and palm kernels. Families Mastotermitidae Kalotermitidae Termopsidae Hodotermitidae Rhinotermitidae Serritermitidae Termitidae Reference: Earthlife as of 2002-07-26 A termite (also known as a white ant) is any member of the order Isoptera, a group of social insects that eat wood and other cellulose-rich vegetable matter. ... Omnivores are organisms that consume both plants and animals. ... Vegetables on a market Vegetable is a nutritional and culinary term denoting any part of a plant that is commonly consumed by humans as food, but is not regarded as a culinary fruit, nut, herb, spice, or grain. ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Symphypleona - globular springtails Subclass Archaeognatha (jumping bristletails) Subclass Dicondylia Monura - extinct Thysanura (common bristletails) Subclass Pterygota Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Blattodea (cockroaches) Mantodea (mantids) Isoptera (termites) Zoraptera Grylloblattodea Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets... Sections Dromiacea Raninoida Heterotremata Thoracotremata The term crab is sometimes applied to several different groups of short (nose to tail) decapods with thick exoskeletons, but only members of the Brachyura are true crabs; other taxa, such as hermit crabs, porcelain crabs, king crabs, and horseshoe crabs are, despite superficial similarities... Giant African Snail (Achatina fulica) The name snail applies to most members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Spain. ...

Unlike domestic rats, they have cheek pouches like a hamster. These cheek pouches allow them to gather up several kilograms of nuts per night for storage underground. They have been known to stuff their pouches so full of date palm nuts so as to be hardly able to squeeze through the entrance of their burrows. The burrows consist of a long passage with side alleys and several chambers, one for sleeping and the others for storage. A pet rat eating watermelon. ... Binomial name Phoenix dactylifera L. The Date Palm Phoenix dactylifera is a palm, extensively cultivated for its edible fruit. ...

These rats reach sexual maturity at 5-7 months of age. They have up to four litters every nine months with up to six offspring in each litter. Sexual maturity is the stage at which an organism can reproduce. ...

Male pouch rats are territorial and tend to be aggressive when they encounter one another, otherwise these rodents are extremely friendly and have become popular as exotic pets. They are intelligent, social and can be very gentle if handled from an early age. A novelty pet, or exotic pet is an unusual animal kept as a pet, sometimes for the express purpose of having an unusual or unique pet. ...

Problems with the pouch rat

Currently these rats have been an invasive species on Grassy Key in the Florida Keys. It is unknown how the rat was released to the wild, and there is fear that if the rats reach Key Largo they could invade the Everglades and cause great ecological damage. Biologists say it would compete for food with native species, carry diseases, and damage the bird population by eating their eggs. Purple flowers of the highly invasive Pattersons Curse infest the Warrumbungle National Park in New South Wales, Australia. ... Palm trees in Islamorada The Florida Keys is an archipelago or cluster of islands extending from the southeastern Florida peninsula near Miami, running south and then curving west to Key West, and out to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. ... Key Largo may mean the following: The island in the Florida Keys, see Key Largo (island) The city on that island, see Key Largo, Florida The play Key Largo written in blank verse by Maxwell Anderson The 1948 film Key Largo starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, based on the... An Anhinga perched on the boardwalk railing The Florida Everglades is a subtropical marshland located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, specifically in parts of Monroe, Collier, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties. ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Egg Egg has multiple meanings. ...

This outsized African rodent is also believed to be responsible for the current outbreak of monkeypox in the United States. In 2003, the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration issued an order preventing the importation of the rodents following the first reported outbreak of monkeypox. Several African species are believed to carry the disease. The Monkeypox virus, first identified in 1958 as a pathogen of cynomolgus monkeys, is an orthopoxvirus with a clinical presentation similar to smallpox. ... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta is recognized as the lead United States agency for protecting the public health and safety of people by providing credible information to enhance health decisions, and promoting health through strong partnerships with state health departments and other organizations. ... The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the government agency responsible for regulating food (human and animal), dietary supplements, drugs (human and animal), cosmetics, medical devices (human and animal), biologics and blood products in the United States. ...

Pouch rats as mine-sniffers

Experiments are being run in Africa using this species of rat to sniff out mines in minefields. It has a very acute sense of smell and a natural explorative behavior that makes it excellent at detecting mines. The rats are tethered to their trainers and set about searching for the hidden mines. Once the rats show the trainer they've sniffed out a mine, they receive a food reward. Mine can refer to a number of things: Mines are tunnels used in mining for extraction of resources. ...

References

• Novak, R.M. and Paradiso, J.L.; Walkers Mammals of the World, Vol II. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1991.
• [1] (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050103/ap_on_sc/gambian_rats_2) - a story from Yahoo news covering concerns about the rat in Florida.