African wading rat

The African wading rat or African water rat (Colomys goslingi) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is native to Africa, where it occurs in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia.^[1]

African wading rat Temporal range: Pleistocene to recent
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Tribe:	Praomyini
Genus:	Colomys Thomas & Wroughton, 1907
Species:	C. goslingi
Binomial name
Colomys goslingi Thomas & Wroughton, 1907

An aquatic species, this rat is found in and around streams and pools in rainforest habitat, and sometimes in grassland and savanna regions.^[1]

In 2020, a team of researchers from Siena College established that it is actually four separate species: the other three species have been named Colomys wologizi, C. lumumbai, and C. eisentrauti.^[2][3][4]

References

1. Kerbis Peterhans, J., et al. 2008. Colomys goslingi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. Downloaded on 11 April 2015.
2. Rat that uses whiskers to hunt underwater prey is really four species, by Jake Buehler, at New Scientist; published October 8, 2020; retrieved October 10, 2020
3. Thomas C. Giarla; Terrence C. Demos; Ara Monadjem; Rainer Hutterer; Desiré Dalton; Mnqobi L. Mamba; Emily A. Roff; Frank M. Mosher; Václav Mikeš; Christopher P. Kofron; Julian C. Kerbis Peterhans (2021). "Integrative taxonomy and phylogeography of Colomys and Nilopegamys (Rodentia: Murinae), semi-aquatic mice of Africa, with descriptions of two new species" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (1): 206–235. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa108.
4. Two New Species of Semi-Aquatic Mice Discovered in Africa; on: sci-news; Oct 12, 2020

Notes

• Colomys. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. (ITIS)
• Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 894–1531. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.