Lesser rice-field rat
This is a medium-sized rodent weighing 50-120 grams. Its dorsal pelage is dark brown and both sides of its tail are black. The abdomen is white instead of yellow, which is what distinguishes it from the Asian house rat. It is the main rat species in Taiwan’s low-elevation grasslands, forests, and fields. It mainly feeds on seeds, roots, and stems and will eat crops growing in fields. However, it tends not to invade homes. Its common name in Chinese, the lesser yellow-bellied rat, appears in the early Japanese literature. At that time, it was believed that there were individuals of this species with yellow abdomen. However, this was incorrect. After World War II, this name had not been changed in A Synopsis of the Vertebrates of Taiwan. This is the reason for the misnomer.
(Source: Taiwan Memory, National Central Library https://tm.ncl.edu.tw/)
Text/Chen Yan-Jun, Chen Mu-Xuan
Photo/Huang Xiao-Ting
