What is the maximal age a White-tailed rat reaches?
An adult White-tailed rat (Mystromys albicaudatus) usually gets as old as 6 years.
White-tailed rats are around 37 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 6 grams (0.01 lbs) and measure 5.3 cm (0′ 3″). As a member of the Muridae family (genus: Mystromys), their offspring is 3 babies per pregnancy. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 1.12 meter (3′ 9″).
As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.
The white-tailed rat (Mystromys albicaudatus) also known as the white-tailed mouse, is the only member of the subfamily Mystromyinae in the family Nesomyidae. This species is sometimes placed in the subfamily Cricetinae due to similarities in appearance between the white-tailed rat and hamsters, but molecular phylogenetic studies have confirmed that the two groups are not closely related. The subfamily Mystromyinae is sometimes placed within the family Muridae along with all other subfamilies of muroids.The white-tailed rat is restricted to shrubby areas and grasslands of South Africa and Lesotho. This is an uncommon species, and populations are thought to be declining because of conversion of scrubland to pasture. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being an “endangered species”.
Animals of the same family as a White-tailed rat
Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Muridae):
- Darwin’s leaf-eared mouse with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Sandy inland mouse with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Strong-tailed Oldfield mouse bringing the scale to 77 grams
- Incan hocicudo bringing the scale to 34 grams
- Sooretamys bringing the scale to 144 grams
- European water vole becoming 5 years old
- Lesser Wilfred’s mouse bringing the scale to 22 grams
- Canyon mouse with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Mount Isarog shrew-mouse bringing the scale to 35 grams
- Slender rat with 2 babies per pregnancy
Animals that reach the same age as White-tailed rat
With an average age of 6 years, White-tailed rat are in good companionship of the following animals:
- American hog-nosed skunk usually reaching 7 years
- Hairy-tailed mole usually reaching 5 years
- Garden dormouse usually reaching 5.5 years
- American pika usually reaching 7 years
- Common sheath-tailed bat usually reaching 5 years
- Long-tailed dunnart usually reaching 5 years
- Cuban solenodon usually reaching 6.5 years
- Mexican mouse opossum usually reaching 7 years
- Western quoll usually reaching 5 years
- Greater grison usually reaching 5.25 years
Animals with the same number of babies White-tailed rat
The same number of babies at once (3) are born by:
- Borneo black-banded squirrel
- Western red-backed vole
- Crosse’s shrew
- Nyika rock rat
- Emin’s gerbil
- Capybara
- Southern mole vole
- White-ankled mouse
- Himalayan pika
- Pyrenean desman
Weighting as much as White-tailed rat
A fully grown White-tailed rat reaches around 86 grams (0.19 lbs). So do these animals:
- Sonoma chipmunk with 75 grams
- Northern palm squirrel with 102 grams
- Gray-tailed narrow-headed rat with 85 grams
- Bare-backed rousette with 92 grams
- Red-bellied mosaic-tailed rat with 78 grams
- Low’s squirrel with 85 grams
- Big-eared climbing rat with 86 grams
- Kaiser’s rock rat with 90 grams
- Patagonian chinchilla mouse with 75 grams
- Romanian hamster with 97 grams