Order : Rodentia
Suborder : Sciurognathi
Family : Muridae
Subfamily : Murinae
Species : Rattus palmarum
The Palm rat is listed as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild, on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Namings for the palm ratA young / baby of a palm rat is called a 'kitten, nestling, pinkie or pup'. The females are called 'doe' and males 'buck'. A palm rat group is called a 'colony, horde, pack, plague or swarm'.
Palm rat habitatsForest, Subtropical / Tropical Dry forest and Subtropical / Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level
Facts about the palm rat
Palm rats are more active this time of the year. These past couple of weeks we seem to have gotten that first taste of the weather we islanders dream of during the long hot summer.
Found dead, believed poisoned, outside restaurant in Hamdan Street, Abu Dhabi (JNBB) Nests in Bateen Wood, Abu Dhabi, (in tree tops) have been identified as of this species while Alan Dickson, Chairman of the Dubai NHG, reported during the year that this species, referred to locally as the Palm Rat, is taking up to have the date crop in some Ras al Khaimah date plantations. (Full text)
The palm rat is named after its habitat as a ground beef while the hedge hog is a cutting grass from the way it feeds on grass. (Full text)
The Palm Rat is currently listed as a vulnerable species (2003), and this particular species of rat is also endemic to India. (Full text)More animals beginning with P