The maned rat (Lophiomys imhausi), is a nocturnal, long-haired and bushy-tailed East Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....

 that superficially resembles a porcupine

Porcupine

Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...

.

Characteristics

The maned rat's body can grow up to 14 inches (35.6 cm) long, or 21 inches (53.3 cm) 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.

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. The rat is known to deliberately smear these hairs with poison from the bark of the Acokanthera schimperi

Acokanthera schimperi

Acokanthera schimperi , belonging to a family of Apocynaceae, is a small tree native to East Africa and Yemen.-Uses:...

, which it chews on, thus creating a defense mechanism that can sicken or even kill predators who attempt to bite it.

Lophiomys differs from typical Muridae

Muridae

Muridae is the largest family of mammals. It contains over 600 species found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. They have been introduced worldwide. The group includes true mice and rats, gerbils, and relatives....

in having the temporal fossa

Temporal fossa

The temporal fossa is a shallow depression on the side of the skull bounded by the temporal lines and terminating below the level of the zygomatic arch.-Boundaries:...

 roofed over a thin plate of bone, rudimentary clavicles, and an opposable hallux. On these grounds it has been made the type of a family; its dentition, however, is typical Cricetine.

Diet

Its diet in the wild consists largely of leaves, fruit, and other plant material, but has been known to eat meat, cereals, root vegetables, and insects in captivity. Food is eaten by sitting on its haunches and using its forepaws to bring food items to its mouth.

Habitat

The habitat of the maned rat ranges from nearly sea level, in Ethiopia and Somalia, to more typically the drier, highland forests and woodlands of Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Fossil remains have been found as far north as Israel, 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.

External links

• Video of animal, hair wicking fluid and SEM image of hair on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLheG3aSpVU