White-tailed rat
| White-tailed rat Temporal range: Early Pliocene - Recent | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Nesomyidae |
| Subfamily: | Mystromyinae Vorontsov, 1966 |
| Genus: | Mystromys Wagner, 1841 |
| Species: | M. albicaudatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Mystromys albicaudatus (Smith, 1834) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Brachytarsomys albicauda | |
The white-tailed rat (Mystromys albicaudatus) also known as the white-tailed mouse, is the only member of the subfamily Mystromyinae in the family Nesomyidae. This species is sometimes placed in the subfamily Cricetinae due to similarities in appearance between the white-tailed rat and hamsters, but molecular phylogenetic studies have confirmed that the two groups are not closely related. The subfamily Mystromyinae is sometimes placed within the family Muridae along with all other subfamilies of muroids.
The white-tailed rat is restricted to shrubby areas and grasslands of South Africa and Lesotho. This is an uncommon species, and populations are thought to be declining because of conversion of scrubland to pasture. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being an "endangered species".