Editing Maned rat (section)

==Description==
The maned rat's body can grow up to {{convert|14|in}} long, or {{convert|21|in}} from head to tail.  The coat consists of long, silver and black-tipped guard hairs over a dense, woolly, grey and white undercoat, with the face and limbs having short, black fur. A mane of longer, coarser black-and-white banded hairs extends from the top of the animal's head to just beyond the base of the [[tail]]. This mane is bordered by a broad, white-bordered strip of hairs covering an area of glandular skin. The forelimbs and hind limbs have short black fur. The forefeet are large and digit 1 of the forefeet does not have a claw while digits 2-5 have a well developed claw.<ref>Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Thomas Butynski, Michael Hoffmann, Meredith Happold, Jan Kalina, [https://books.google.com/books?id=B_07noCPc4kC&dq=maned+rat+mammals+of+africa+kingdon&pg=RA2-PA213], ''Mammals of Africa''</ref>

When the animal is threatened or excited, the mane erects and this strip parts, exposing the glandular area. The hairs in this area are, at the tips, like ordinary hair, but are otherwise spongy, fibrous, and absorbent with a honeycomb structure.<ref>{{Cite web|title=For Rats That Coat Themselves In Poison, These Rodents Are Surprisingly Cuddly|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/11/27/938878618/for-rats-that-coat-themselves-in-poison-these-rodents-are-surprisingly-cuddly|access-date=2020-12-02|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref> The rat is known to deliberately smear these hairs with poison from the bark of the ''[[Acokanthera schimperi]]'', the poison arrow tree, on which it chews, thus creating a defense mechanism that can sicken or even kill [[predation|predators]] which attempt to bite it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/15360-crested-rat-poison-hairs-kills.html|publisher=LiveScience|first=Jennifer|last=Welsh|date=2 August 2011|access-date=2 August 2011|title=Giant Rat Kills Predators with Poisonous Hair}}</ref> It is the only rodent known to utilize and store toxins<ref>{{Cite web|title=African crested rat: The rabbit-sized rodent with poisonous fur|url=https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/african-crested-rat-the-rabbit-sized-rodent-with-poisonous-fur/|access-date=2020-12-02|website=BBC Science Focus Magazine|language=en}}</ref> from a different species in nature to protect itself, with no known adverse effects to themselves.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kingdon|first1=Jonathan|last2=Agwanda|first2=Bernard|last3=Kinnaird|first3=Margaret|last4=O'Brien|first4=Timothy|last5=Holland|first5=Christopher|last6=Gheysens|first6=Thomas|last7=Boulet-Audet|first7=Maxime|last8=Vollrath|first8=Fritz|date=2012-02-22|title=A poisonous surprise under the coat of the African crested rat|url= |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=279|issue=1729|pages=675–680|doi=10.1098/rspb.2011.1169|pmc=3248729|pmid=21813554}}</ref>  <!-- paper is http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2011/07/29/rspb.2011.1169, {{doi|10.1098/rspb.2011.1169}} , but the seems to be broken. user:csmiller -->

''L. imhausi'' differs from typical [[Muridae]] in having the [[temporal fossa]] roofed over a thin plate of bone, rudimentary [[clavicle]]s, and an opposable [[Toe|hallux]]. The dorsal surface of the skull is covered with small bony projections which gives it a pebbled look. The projections are 0.3mm across and are separated every 0.3mm. On these grounds, it has been made the type of a family; its dentition, however, is typical [[Cricetinae|Cricetine]].<ref>{{cite book
 | author = Flower, William Henry
 | author2 = Lydekker, Richard
 | title = An Introduction to the Study of Mammals Living and Extinct
 | publisher = A. and C. Black | year = 1891
 | url = https://archive.org/details/anintroductiont00lydegoog
| page = [https://archive.org/details/anintroductiont00lydegoog/page/n482 460]
 | isbn = 9781440058912
 }}</ref> The dental formula is 1/1, 0/0, 0/0, 3/3, giving it a total of 16 teeth. The cusps of the molars are arranged biserially and connected medially by longitudinal enamel crests.<ref>Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Thomas Butynski, Michael Hoffmann, Meredith Happold, Jan Kalina, [https://books.google.com/books?id=B_07noCPc4kC&dq=maned+rat+mammals+of+africa+kingdon&pg=RA2-PA213], ''Mammals of Africa''</ref>