Link rat

The link rat, Deomys ferrugineus, is a rodent in the family Muridae that is native to central Africa and is also known as the Congo forest mouse. It measures 12 to 14.5 centimetres in head and body length, with a tail of 15 to 21 centimetres, and weighs 40 to 70 grams. It has long legs, a narrow pointed head topped by very large ears, and a long bicoloured tail. The back and forehead are rich orange and brown, the underside is white, and the hairs of the rump are stiff. It is active at night and at dusk, and it prefers seasonally flooded forest floors between Cameroon and the Victoria Nile, with a widespread but scattered distribution in which it is rarely common. It feeds mainly on insects, crustaceans and slugs, along with some fallen fruits, notably palm-nut husks. It was traditionally grouped with the African climbing mice, but molecular data tie it more closely to the spiny mice, and a subfamily, Deomyinae, was created to hold it together with the spiny mice, the brush-furred mice and Rudd's mouse.