Categories
Litter Size

How many babies does a Namaqua rock rat have at once? (litter size)

How many baby Namaqua rock rats are in a litter?

A Namaqua rock rat (Aethomys namaquensis) usually gives birth to around 3 babies.With 2 litters per year, that sums up to a yearly offspring of 6 babies.

Each of those little ones spend around 21 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 2 grams (0 lbs) and measure 4 cm (0′ 2″). They are a member of the Muridae family (genus: Aethomys). An adult Namaqua rock rat grows up to a size of 14.1 cm (0′ 6″).

To have a reference: Humans obviously usually have a litter size of one ;). Their babies are in the womb of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks) and reach an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). They weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual, and reach an average age of 75 years.

The average litter size of a Namaqua rock rat is 3

The Namaqua rock rat (Aethomys namaquensis) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is sometimes included in the genus Micaelamys.It is found in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.Its natural habitats are temperate forest, dry savanna, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland, rocky areas, hot desert, temperate desert, rocky shores, arable land, rural gardens, and urban areas.Parasites include the chigger species: Afropolonia tgifi, Gahrliepia nana, Acomatacarus thallomyia, Hyracarus lawrencei, Herpetacarus aethomys, Herpetacarus longispinus, and Zumptrombicula misonnei.

Other animals of the family Muridae

Namaqua rock rat is a member of the Muridae, as are these animals:

Animals that share a litter size with Namaqua rock rat

Those animals also give birth to 3 babies at once:

Animals with the same weight as a Namaqua rock rat

What other animals weight around 57 grams (0.13 lbs)?