Rhabdomys

Rhabdomys
Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Recent
Rhabdomys pumilio
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Tribe: Arvicanthini
Genus: Rhabdomys
Thomas, 1916
Type species
Mus pumilio
Species

Rhabdomys dilectus
Rhabdomys pumilio

Rhabdomys is a largely Southern African genus of muroid rodents slightly larger than house mice. They are known variously as striped or four-striped mice or rats. Traditionally the genus has been seen as a single species, Rhabdomys pumilio, though modern evidence on the basis of karyotype and mtDNA analysis suggests that it comprises two or more species and subspecies. Dorsally Rhabdomys species display four characteristic black longitudinal stripes on a paler background.