Lophiomys imhausi porcupine mouse

Porcupines have the scientific name Lophiomys imhausi, they are also known as crested rats or mice with manes.

The hair of the porcupine is quite special: their back has a long strip of hair running from the head to the tail, this band of fur ruffled high when threatened, it looked like a mouse with a mane. Each side of the mane in the middle of the back has a shorter, lighter-colored hair around it, creating a wrinkling effect and more clearly revealing the uniquely manic mane in the rat world.

Although it is a mouse, this rodent animal does not look like a mouse at all, because it looks like a small hedgehog from a distance.When the mane stands up, the back of the mouse will reveal a foul-smelling odor . This smell is a porcupine mouse weapon used to scare off predators. The hair that lies along this route has a special structure that is easy to spread away.

Thanks to the appearance of a porcupine bristling and thanks to an effective foul-smelling weapon, Lophiomys imhausi has few enemies in the nature, although they move slowly.

My body is fat, the limbs are short but the porcupine mice climb well. Most of the time they are in the tree. They can climb down with their heads down first but very slowly, very different from other types of escape and escape. Although the porcupine mouse likes to stay on the tree, it makes a nest between the rocks or making the ground.

Scientists are still unable to fully explain the rat of Lophiomys imhausi. Their skulls have a lot of strengthened bones that make the skull more rigid. Some people claim that this point of the skull may be to increase protection, suitable for slow animals.

In addition to raising children, porcupine mice live alone alone. They often point out to feed at night, food is usually shoots and soft leaves, not omnivorous like other rats.

Another very strange feature is that Lophiomys imhausi rats rarely drink water , as their bodies can absorb enough water from the food. While eating, they sit on the back of their thighs, using their fingers to grasp food and put food in their mouths.

The rat body of Lophiomys imhausi is about 35cm long on average, the tail is about 17cm, weighs about 3kg, the female is always larger than the male.

This porcupine rat lives in the forest, and is found in Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Kenya (Africa).