genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
semiaquatic
In biology, being semi-aquatic refers to various macroorganisms that live regularly in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. When referring to animals, the term describes those that actively spend part of their daily time in water (in ...
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...
s in the subfamily
Murinae
The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families excep ...
, the Old World rats and mice. The genus is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
.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.
These rats are
wetland
A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
habitat specialists, occurring in
marshy
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in general ...
areas with wet ground and thick vegetation, such as
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s and
vlei
A vlei (; ) is a shallow minor lake, mostly of a seasonal or intermittent lake, intermittent nature. It even might refer to seasonal ponds or marshy patches where frogs and similar marsh dwellers breed. Commonly, vleis vary in their extent, or e ...
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
taxonomy
image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy
Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...
is not clear. The number of species and their relationships have only been tentatively determined.
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 robertsii'') is a species of rodent in the genus ''Dasymys'' that lives in South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. I ...
Dasymys shortridgei
''Dasymys'' is a genus of semiaquatic rodents in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World rats and mice. The genus is endemism, endemic to Africa.Dasymys sua'' – Tanzanian dasymys