''Bandicota'' is a genus of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

s from

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

known as the bandicoot rats. Their common name and genus name are derived from the

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language fam ...

word ''pandikokku'' (పందికొక్కు). DNA studies have found the group to be a monophyletic clade sister to the radiation of Molucca and Australian ''

Rattus ''Rattus'' is a genus of muroid rodents, all typically called rats. However, the term rat can also be applied to rodent species outside of this genus. Species and description The best-known ''Rattus'' species are the black rat (''R. rattus'') ...

'' species as part of the paraphyletic ''Rattus'' ''sensu lato''.

Species

* Greater bandicoot rat (''B. indica'') Bechstein, 1800 * Lesser bandicoot rat (''B. bengalensis'') Gray and Hardwicke, 1833 * Savile's bandicoot rat (''B. savilei'') Thomas, 1916

References

Rodent genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{Murinae-stub