 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Emin's pouched rat" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Emin's pouched rat | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Nesomyidae |
| Genus: | Cricetomys |
| Species: | C. emini |
| Binomial name | |
| Cricetomys emini Wroughton, 1910 | |
Emin's pouched rat (Cricetomys emini), also known as theAfrican pouched rat, is a largerat of themuroid superfamily. It is related toCricetomys gambianus, theGambian pouched rat. Both species belong toCricetomys, the genus of the giant pouched rats.
These animals were introduced into theexotic pet trade, but have been banned by the CDC and FDA after an outbreak of monkeypox. They are easily tamed.[citation needed]
They are native toAfrica and are found along the edges of forests and along the plains. Emin's pouched rats are actually better climbers than their better known Gambian pouched rat cousins. These pouched rats are named for having cheek pouches much like ahamster.
Emin's pouched rat and the Gambian pouched rat have a few very noticeable physical differences:
Both the Gambian pouched rat and Emin's pouched rat were introduced into theexotic pet trade. Unfortunately, many dealers and breeders failed to recognize the difference in the two species and some even tried breeding the two together. There have been reports of it being successful, and other reports of offspring dying at birth. Both species are sometimes kept as pets, but males can be territorial to others of the same species.
