What are the main species of bamboo rats?

Bamboo mouse, as its name implies, is a kind of animal that likes to eat bamboo, and people habitually call them winter grass mouse, Mangdong mouse, beaver, pig mouse, bamboo beaver and so on. Because of its high medicinal value and economic value, many farmers have been engaged in artificial breeding of bamboo mice. So do you know the main species of bamboo rats and the characteristics of different kinds of bamboo rats? Let's go into the bamboo mouse and have a look at it.

1. Chinese bamboo mouse

Chinese bamboo rat, known as "ordinary bamboo rat", is the most widely distributed species of bamboo rat in China. In China, they are mainly distributed in the central and southern provinces such as Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan and Fujian. Specifically, an adult Chinese bamboo mouse is 25-35 cm long and weighs 1-1.7 kg. They are stout and mostly cylindrical. Female bamboo mice have a pair of breasts on their breasts and three pairs of breasts on their abdomen.

2. Yinxing bamboo mouse

The origin of the name "Silver Star Bamboo Mouse" is closely related to its hair. Its back is brownish gray, the back hair has many whitish needle hairs, but also with glitter. Not only that, their hair is also relatively rough, so people call them "coarse-haired bamboo rats". In China, they are mainly distributed in the southeast, such as Guangdong, Fujian and other provinces. The main foods of Yinxing bamboo rat are Reed grass root, white thatch root, bamboo root, bamboo joint, bamboo leaf and so on.

3. Big bamboo rat

This kind of bamboo rat is larger and obese, and it is the largest in the bamboo rat species, with an adult length of about 40 centimeters and a weight of 2-4 kilograms. In China, they are mainly distributed in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. They often feed on bamboo roots and bamboo shoots, but also eat some other plants. And because their indumentum is sparse and rough, their cheeks are rusty brown or reddish brown, so they have the nickname of "red-cheeked bamboo mouse".

4. Bamboo mouse

The individual of the bamboo mouse is the smallest among the species. Not only that, they are also few, belonging to rare species, mainly distributed in western Yunnan, northern Bangladesh, Thailand and other places. Although its body shape is similar to that of Chinese bamboo mouse, its weight is only 0.2-0.3 kg.

5. Dark brown bamboo mouse

Dark brown bamboo rodents are mainly distributed in western Yunnan and northeastern Guizhou, their morphology is also quite similar to that of Chinese bamboo rodents, and the whole body coat is dark black. It weighs about 1.5 kilograms.