The target rat (''Stochomys longicaudatus'') is a species of

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 ...

in the family

Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. ...

. It is the only species in the

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 ...

''Stochomys''. Its natural habitat is

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

moist lowland forests.

Description

The target rat is a moderately sized rat-like rodent, with a head-body length of and weighing around . The fur is dark reddish-brown over the back, becoming greyish on the flanks, and fading to pale grey on the underparts. The sparsely bristled tail is much longer than the body, being typically in length. Females have six teats. It is so named because it has a number of long dark bristles projecting from its rump which resemble the shafts of arrows in a target. The synonym ''Mus sebastianus'' also refers to this,

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

being an early Christian martyr said to have been tied to a tree and shot with arrows.

Distribution and habitat

The target rat is native to humid rainforests in tropical western Central Africa at elevations from sea level to . Its range extends from Togo through Benin and Nigeria to the

Congo Basin The Congo Basin () is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It contains some of the larg ...

and eastwards to western Uganda. It occurs in swampy areas of forests and in gallery forests and beside streams. It has also been observed in secondary forests around villages and in banana plantations. Two subspecies are currently recognised: * ''Stochomys longicaudatus longicaudatus'' (Tullberg 1893) -

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

to the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

* ''Stochomys longicaudatus ituricus'' (Thomas, 1915) - the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, western

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Biology and behaviour

The target rat is largely nocturnal and feeds on the ground on green vegetable material and fallen fruit, supplementing these with some insects. In addition to moving along the ground, it often climbs into the rainforest understory, although not high into trees. It has been reported to construct spherical nests of shredded grass. Little is known of the social organisation of this species but in Cameroon a group of thirteen was caught at one location in an

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms, called oil palms, containing two species, native to Africa and the Americas. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. Description Mature palms are single-stemmed, and can gro ...

plantation. Breeding takes place throughout the year, but may be more common between February and May and between September and December. Litters range from one to four young.

Status

The target rat has a wide range and is a common species. It is presumed to have a large population and no particular threats have been identified. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has rated its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q199019 target rat Mammals of West Africa Mammals of Cameroon Mammals of Equatorial Guinea Mammals of Gabon Mammals of the Central African Republic Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals of the Republic of the Congo Rodents of Africa target rat Taxonomy articles created by Polbot