It is hard to guess what a Dassie rat weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Dassie rat (Petromus typicus) on average weights 224 grams (0.49 lbs).
The Dassie rat is from the family Petromuridae (genus: Petromus). When reaching adult age, they grow up to 100 cm (3′ 4″). On average, Dassie rats can have babies 1 times per year with a litter size of 1.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The dassie rat (Petromus typicus) is an African rodent found among rocky outcroppings. It is the only living member of its genus, Petromus, and family, Petromuridae. The name “dassie” means “hyrax” in Afrikaans, and the two animals are found in similar habitats. Petromus means “rock mouse” and dassie rats are one of many rodents sometimes called rock rats. The family and genus names are sometimes misspelled as Petromyidae and Petromys.
Animals with the same weight as a Dassie rat
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Petromus typicus:
- Ashy chinchilla rat bringing 194 grams to the scale
- Mohol bushbaby bringing 193 grams to the scale
- Pallid Atlantic tree-rat bringing 215 grams to the scale
- Southwestern water vole bringing 220 grams to the scale
- Saharan striped polecat bringing 218 grams to the scale
- Southern pig-footed bandicoot bringing 220 grams to the scale
- Chinese zokor bringing 256 grams to the scale
- Common degu bringing 203 grams to the scale
- Bioko Allen’s bushbaby bringing 268 grams to the scale
- Halmahera naked-backed fruit bat bringing 218 grams to the scale
Animals with the same litter size as a Dassie rat
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Dassie rat: