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sticks and is sited on the surface. These stick lodges are found in the shrubs of the desert. They can be over 1 m (3.3 ft) tall and there is only one lodge per bush/shrub. These stick lodges offer protection against the extreme climates, predators, and also a physiological refuge. The temperature variation in the nests are significantly less than the surrounding ambient temperatures with the temperature in the winter being about 4 °C (39 °F) higher inside the nest than outside and 14 °C (57 °F) lower during the summer than the outside temperatures.
75:
50:
265:
The Karoo bush rat can be found in the semi-deserts of South Africa. These deserts have extreme temperature fluctuations ranging from below 0 °C (32 °F) in the winter to over 40 °C (104 °F) in the summer. The Karoo bush rat unlike most rodents creates a refuge made of interwoven
300:
The Karoo bush rat is limited in diet due to its dry and arid climate. They are considered herbivores, eating foliage and succulent stems from 60 different plant species. In the winter they consume mostly succulents, in the spring they consume an even mix of succulents, non-succulents, and annual
257:. The Karoo rat uses behavioral adaptations to cope with the dry arid climate. It is a medium-sized rodent with a dark pelage on top and lighter underneath. It has light colored feet and a dark tail. The rat may have light colored fur around its eyes and the back of its ears.
301:
vegetation. In the summer and fall months they consume succulent and annual plants evenly. To gather food they bite off lengths of vegetation and drag them to the entrances of their stick refuges where they will consume the resources gather.
291:
has very rapid postnatal development and small litters of semi-precocial young. The average litter size is two to three. Weaning begins at eight days of age and reproduction can begin at six weeks for males and five weeks of age for females.
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In the family
Muridae the Karoo bush rat has a strong correlation between reproduction, the abundant resources, and the occupation of the stick lodges.
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Shradin, Carsten. "Nest-Site
Competition in Two Diurnal Rodents from the Succulent Karoo of South Africa",
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Jackson, . "Alternative refuge strategies and their relation to thermophysiology in two sympatric rodents,
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Vermeulen, H.C.; Nel, J.A.J. (1988). "The bush Karoo rat Otomys unisulcatus on the Cape West coast".
396:
Du
Plessis, A.; Kerley, G.I.H.; Winter, P.E.D. (1991). "Dietary patterns of two herbivorous rodents:
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Kerley, Graham I., and
Theunis Winter. "Fire and the Range Limits of the Bush Karoo Rat
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in coastal
Western Cape Province, the rat uses the plant stems of the native bush shrub
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Pillay, . "Reproduction and postnatal development in the bush Karoo rat
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Mammal
Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference
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485:The Complete Book of Southern African Mammals
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341:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T15662A4973912.en
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468:Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters,
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328:The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
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1175:IUCN Red List least concern species
318:Taylor, P.J.; Monadjem, A. (2008).
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470:, vol. 2. Accessed 31 Oct. 2016.
406:South African Journal of Zoology
73:
511:Johns Hopkins University Press
418:10.1080/02541858.1991.11448231
1:
1190:Taxa named by Frédéric Cuvier
946:Littledale's whistling rat (
905:Mount Kilimanjaro vlei rat (
566:Extant species of subfamily
384:Journal of Arid Environments
779:Southern African vlei rat (
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495:; Carleton, M. D. (2005).
1185:Mammals described in 1829
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70:Scientific classification
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46:
37:
28:
23:
937:Brants's whistling rat (
503:; Reeder, D. M. (eds.).
434:. Accessed 31 Oct. 2016.
386:. Accessed 31 Oct. 2016.
365:. Accessed 31 Oct. 2016.
1003:Stenocephalomys–Xeromys
361:(Muridae, Otomyinae)."
271:Postberg Nature Reserve
788:Mount Elgon vlei rat (
497:"Superfamily Muroidea"
833:Afroalpine vlei rat (
716:Cheesman's vlei rat (
639:Sloggett's vlei rat (
1063:Myotomys unisulcatus
1033:Myotomys unisulcatus
842:Saunder's vlei rat (
797:Tanzanian vlei rat (
752:Dollman's vlei rat (
734:Ruwenzori vlei rat (
698:Barbour's vlei rat (
629:(African karoo rats)
334:: e.T15662A4973912.
289:Myotomys unisulcatus
279:to make its lodges.
223:Myotomys unisulcatus
179:Myotomys unisulcatus
993:Pogonomys–Pseudomys
896:Yalden's vlei rat (
869:Tropical vlei rat (
860:Thomas's vlei rat (
806:Laminate vlei rat (
770:Heller's vlei rat (
707:Burton's vlei rat (
161:M. unisulcatus
40:Conservation status
988:Oenomys–Pithecheir
968:Aethomys–Chrotomys
887:Uzungwe vlei rat (
878:Typical vlei rat (
824:Western vlei rat (
761:Charada vlei rat (
680:Angolan vlei rat (
464:Otomys unisulcatus
402:Parotomys brantsii
398:Otomys unisulcatus
380:Otomys unisulcatus
376:Parotomys brantsii
363:Journal of Zoology
359:Otomys unisulcatus
322:Otomys unisulcatus
241:. It is found in
233:) is a species of
204:Otomys unisulcatus
1162:
1161:
1147:Open Tree of Life
1025:Taxon identifiers
1016:
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851:Simien vlei rat (
743:Dent's vlei rat (
725:Cuanza vlei rat (
689:Angoni vlei rat (
520:978-0-8018-8221-0
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16:Species of rodent
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815:Large vlei rat (
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1057:Wikispecies
939:P. brantsii
790:O. jacksoni
754:O. dollmani
700:O. barbouri
670:(Vlei rats)
261:Environment
231:unisulcatus
226:, formerly
1169:Categories
898:O. yaldeni
862:O. thomasi
835:O. orestes
817:O. maximus
772:O. helleri
763:O. fortior
709:O. burtoni
305:References
920:Parotomys
579:Kingdom:
255:shrubland
187:F. Cuvier
155:Species:
93:Kingdom:
87:Eukaryota
1180:Myotomys
1126:13001888
1071:BioLib:
1048:Q1765959
1042:Wikidata
962:See also
907:O. zinki
880:O. typus
745:O. denti
622:Myotomys
609:Family:
605:Rodentia
593:Mammalia
587:Chordate
585:Phylum:
581:Animalia
570:(Otomys)
529:62265494
196:Synonyms
148:Myotomys
133:Family:
127:Rodentia
117:Mammalia
107:Chordata
103:Phylum:
97:Animalia
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60:IUCN 3.1
1100:4264856
611:Muridae
603:Order:
591:Class:
568:Murinae
488:- photo
269:In the
251:habitat
243:Namibia
239:Muridae
189:, 1829)
143:Genus:
137:Muridae
123:Order:
113:Class:
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1008:Others
998:Rattus
663:Otomys
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276:Exomis
235:rodent
229:Otomys
1087:456HT
1074:36398
499:. In
1134:NCBI
1108:ITIS
1095:GBIF
525:OCLC
515:ISBN
452:(2).
400:and
378:and
332:2008
296:Diet
245:and
212:The
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