Editing Maned rat

{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = African crested rat
| fossil_range = Early [[Pleistocene]] - Recent
| image = Lophiomys imhausi.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Schlitter, D. |date=2016 |title=''Lophiomys imhausi'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T12308A22368581 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T12308A22368581.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| display_parents = 2
| grandparent_authority = [[Henri Milne-Edwards|Milne-Edwards]], 1867
| genus = Lophiomys
| parent_authority = [[Henri Milne-Edwards|Milne-Edwards]], 1867
| species = imhausi
| authority = [[Henri Milne-Edwards|Milne-Edwards]], 1867
}}

The '''maned rat''' or '''(African) crested rat''' ('''''Lophiomys imhausi''''') is a [[nocturnal]], long-haired and bushy-tailed East [[Africa]]n [[rodent]] that superficially resembles a [[porcupine]]. The world's only known poisonous rodent, the maned rat sequesters toxins from plants to fend off predators.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wu |first1=Katherine |title=This Rat Covers Itself With Poison That Can Take Out an Elephant |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/science/african-crested-rat-poison.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=25 January 2022 |date=25 November 2020}}</ref>

==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>

==Diet==
Its diet in the wild consists largely of leaves, [[fruit]], and other plant material, but it has been known to eat meat, cereals, root vegetables, and [[insect]]s in captivity. Food is eaten by sitting on its haunches and using its forepaws to bring food items to its mouth. It is the only species in the super family [[Muroidea]] whose stomach is highly compartmentalized. The stomach contains five anatomically discrete sections that superficially resemble the sacculated configuration characteristic of [[ruminant]] [[Even-toed ungulate|artiodactyls]]. By virtue of its large size and biomass, ''L. imhausi'' may be one of the few muroid rodents that can harbor a symbiotic microflora in the foregut and profit metabolically from gastric fermentation of cellulose.<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>

==Habitat==
The [[habitat]] of the maned rat [[range (biology)|ranges]] from nearly sea level, in Ethiopia and Somalia, to more typically the drier, highland forests and woodlands of Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. Fossil remains have been found as far north as Palestine, however. They are often found in rocky areas or in hollow tree trunks and holes along the tops of ravines, and have also been found nesting among rocks on cliff-faces.

==Reproduction==
The maned rat was believed to be solitary, but is now known to be somewhat sociable, with multiple animals trapped in the same territory; they purr and groom one another. Thus it is possible they form family groups of a male, female, and offspring.<ref>{{cite web |title=Toxic Rats Live Social Lives |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/rats-poisonous-hair-fur-africa-tree-toxins-social-lives |website=Science News |access-date=23 January 2021}}</ref>
The litter size is 1–3. The young are slightly haired at birth and white markings and black stripes on the body are visible after 9 days. By day 13, the eyes open. The hair is sufficiently long that the crest can be erectile by day 20. The newborns become mobile by day 23 and are weaned by day 40.<ref>Jonathan Kingdon, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1TBLAAAAQBAJ&dq=maned+rat+mammals+of+africa+kingdon&pg=PT353], ''The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals''</ref>

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
*Jansa, S. A. and M. Weksler. 2004. Phylogeny of muroid rodents: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP gene sequences.  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31:256-276.
*Kingdon, Jonathan. ''East African Mammals''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974. 519–526.
* Jonathan Kingdon, Bernard Agwanda, Margaret Kinnaird, Timothy O'Brien, Christopher Holland, Tom Gheysens, Maxime Boulet-Audet and Fritz Vollrath 2011 ''A poisonous surprise under the coat of the African crested rat'' Proc. R. Soc. B [http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2011/07/29/rspb.2011.1169] {{doi|10.1098/rspb.2011.1169}}
* Jonathan Kingdon, [[David Happold]], Thomas Butynski, Michael Hoffmann, Meredith Happold, Jan Kalina, ''Mammals of Africa'', Vol. 1-6
* Jonathan Kingdon, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=sjPCCAAAQBAJ&q=%22maned+rat%22 The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals]''
* {{cite iucn |author=Schlitter, D. |date=2016 |title=''Lophiomys imhausi'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T12308A22368581 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T12308A22368581.en |access-date=12 November 2021}} Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern

==External links==
{{Wikispecies|Lophiomys imhausi}}
{{Commons category|Lophiomys imhausi}}
* {{cite web
 | title = ''Lophiomys imhausi'': crested rat
 | publisher = Animal Diversity Web
 | url = http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Lophiomys_imhausi.html
 | access-date = 20 November 2010
}}
* Video of animal, hair wicking fluid and SEM image of hair on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLheG3aSpVU

{{Muridae}}
{{Myomorpha|E.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q852793}}

[[Category:Mammals described in 1867]]
[[Category:Muridae]]
[[Category:Rodents of Africa]]