Malagasy giant rat
The Malagasy giant rat (Hypogeomys antimena), also known as the votsotsa or votsovotsa, is a nesomyid rodent found only in the Menabe region of Madagascar. It is an endangered species due to habitat loss, slow reproduction, and limited range (200 square kilometres north of Morondava, between the rivers Tomitsy and Tsiribihina) Pairs are monogamous and females bear only one or two young per year. It is the only extant species in the genus Hypogeomys; another species, Hypogeomys australis, is known from subfossil remains a few thousand years old.
| Malagasy giant rat Temporal range: Holocene | |
|---|---|
| Wild Malagasy giant rat at the Kirindy Forest Reserve, Madagascar | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Nesomyidae |
| Genus: | Hypogeomys |
| Species: | H. antimena |
| Binomial name | |
| Hypogeomys antimena A. Grandidier , 1869 | |
| Malagasy giant rat range | |
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