''Hypogeomys'' is a

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 ...

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 family

Nesomyidae The Nesomyidae are a family (biology), family of African rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes several subfamilies, all of which are native to either continental Africa or to Madagascar. Included in this family are N ...

, found in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. There is one extant species, the

Malagasy giant rat The Malagasy giant rat (''Hypogeomys antimena''), also known as the votsotsa or votsovotsa, is a nesomyid rodent found only in the Menabe region of Madagascar. It is an endangered species due to habitat loss, slow reproduction, and limited ...

(''Hypogeomys antimena''), currently an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

with a restricted range. There is also another species known from

subfossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s from a few thousand years ago, '' Hypogeomys australis''. ''H. antinema'' measures , making it the largest rodent in Madagascar, while ''H. australis'' seems to have been slightly larger.Goodman, S.M. and Rakotondravony, D. 1996
The Holocene distribution of ''Hypogeomys'' (Rodentia: Muridae: Nesomyinae) on Madagascar.
Biogéographie de Madagascar 1996:283–293.

References

Taxa named by Alfred Grandidier Rodent genera Mammal genera with one living species {{muroid-stub