The Short-tailed Bandicoot Rat (Nesokia indica) is a species of 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....

 in the family 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....

.
Other common names include Short-tailed Mole Rat, Indian Bandicoot, Bandicoot-rat, Flat-tooth Rat and Short-tailed Nesokia.
Accepted synonyms include Nesokia bacheri (Nehring, 1897), Nesokia bailwardi (Thomas, 1907), Nesokia beaba (Wroughton, 1908), Nesokia boettgeri (Radde and Walter, 1889), Nesokia brachyura (Büchner, 1889), Nesokia buxtoni (Thomas, 1919), Nesokia chitralensis (Schlitter and Setzer, 1973), Nesokia dukelskiana (Heptner, 1928), Nesokia griffithi (Horsfield, 1851), Nesokia hardwickei (Gray, 1837), Nesokia huttoni (Blyth, 1846), Nesokia indicus (Peters, 1860), Nesokia insularis (Goodwin, 1940), Nesokia legendrei (Goodwin, 1939), Nesokia myosura (Wagner, 1845), Nesokia satunini (Nehring, 1899), Nesokia scullyi (Wood-Mason, 1876) and Nesokia suilla (Thomas, 1907).

Characteristics

The short-tailed bandicoot rat is generally brown on the upper parts and lighter on the underside, sometimes with a white patch on the throat. It has long, dense and soft hair in the winter, but the hair is short, sparse and stubbly in the summer. The broad feet and the tail are scantily haired. The forefeet have four functional digits and the hind feet have five, each with a strong, nearly straight claw. The body size varies between 182-388 grams and the length between 165-218 millimetres.

Distribution

The short-tailed bandicoot rat lives in river valleys, by lake sides, in irrigated lands and oases in Asia and North Africa, from Xinjiang

Xinjiang

Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...

 (China) in the east to Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 in the west, to Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

 in the north and to Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

 in the south.

Biology

The short-tailed bandicoot rat is a nocturnal rodent and spends most of its time in a burrow which comprises many tunnels and chambers. The depths may be up to 60 centimetres and the burrow may be up to nine metres long, covering an area of up to 120 square metres. One chamber is lined with vegetation for nesting. The gestation period is believed to be about seventeen days. There are three generations per year with 3-5 pups in each litter. Breeding starts in March and may continue all year round in regions where the winters are warm.

Ecology

The short-tailed bandicoot rat is common and can reach high numbers under favorable conditions. It prefers damp places and does considerable damage to agricultural crops by its burrowing activities. It feeds on grass, grains, roots and cultivated fruit and vegetables. It makes tunnels in walls of irrigation canals and can cause leaks and flooding. It has many enemies including jackals, foxes, jungle cats, polecats, weasels, snakes and domestic cats and dogs.