How big does a White-footed rabbit-rat get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown White-footed rabbit-rat (Conilurus albipes) reaches an average size of 25 cm (0′ 10″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 200 grams (0.44 lbs). The White-footed rabbit-rat (genus: Conilurus) is a member of the family Muridae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
The white-footed rabbit-rat (Conilurus albipes) is an extinct species of rodent, which was originally found in woodlands from Adelaide to Sydney, but became restricted to south-eastern Australia. It was kitten-sized and was one of Australia’s largest native rodents. It was nocturnal and lived among trees. It made nests filled with leaves and possibly grass in the limbs of hollow eucalyptus trees. The mother carried her young attached to her teats. In a letter to John Gould, then Governor of South Australia Sir George Grey said that he removed a baby from a teat of its dead mother. The baby clung tightly to Gould’s glove.Sydney natives called it ‘gnar-ruck’ which translates as ‘rabbit-biscuit’. It was a problem in the settlers’ stores at about 1788. The last specimen was recorded at about 1845, but some were reported in 1856–57 and perhaps in the 1930s. Rats may have spread diseases or competed for food with the white-footed rabbit rat. Cats may have been predators, while the demise of Aboriginal firestick farming, which maintained woodland, may have made the rabbit rat extinct.Joyce and McCann, in Burke & Wills – The Scientific Legacy of the Victorian Exploring Expedition (CSIRO Publishing, 2012) state (p138 et seq) that the animal was seen by Beckler at camp 53 in April 1861, in the vicinity of the Bulloo River system. Additionally, the authors state that the relief party of 1862, which included Howitt, collected a specimen south of Coopers Creek.
Animals of the same family as a White-footed rabbit-rat
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Biting chinchilla mouse with a weight of 82 grams
- House mouse with 5 babies per litter
- Eversmann’s hamster with 5 babies per litter
- Garlepp’s mouse with a weight of 59 grams
- Olrog’s chaco mouse with a size of 9.6 cm (0′ 4″)
- Lataste’s gerbil with 4 babies per litter
- Chestnut tree mouse with a size of 11.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Giant white-tailed rat with a size of 28.3 cm (1′ 0″)
- Hoary bamboo rat with 3 babies per litter
- Oecomys rex with a weight of 73 grams
Animals with the same size as a White-footed rabbit-rat
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as White-footed rabbit-rat:
- Southern white-breasted hedgehog with a size of 23.1 cm (0′ 10″)
- Moluccan flying fox with a size of 25.3 cm (0′ 10″)
- Big-eared flying fox with a size of 21.1 cm (0′ 9″)
- Grey-headed flying fox with a size of 27.2 cm (0′ 11″)
- White-tailed antsangy with a size of 22.5 cm (0′ 9″)
- Giant Atlantic tree-rat with a size of 28.2 cm (1′ 0″)
- Central American squirrel monkey with a size of 28.2 cm (1′ 0″)
- Richardson’s ground squirrel with a size of 21.1 cm (0′ 9″)
- Allen’s woodrat with a size of 22.3 cm (0′ 9″)
- Florida naked-tailed rat with a size of 27 cm (0′ 11″)
Animals with the same weight as a White-footed rabbit-rat
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Conilurus albipes:
- Middle East blind mole-rat bringing 180 grams to the scale
- Big-eared woodrat bringing 225 grams to the scale
- Large vlei rat bringing 192 grams to the scale
- Indian hedgehog bringing 171 grams to the scale
- Large-eared pika bringing 205 grams to the scale
- Pteropus brunneus bringing 200 grams to the scale
- Andersen’s naked-backed fruit bat bringing 233 grams to the scale
- Speckled dasyure bringing 212 grams to the scale
- Ruddy treeshrew bringing 168 grams to the scale
- Anthony’s woodrat bringing 195 grams to the scale