Short-tailed bandicoot rat

The short-tailed bandicoot rat, Nesokia indica, is a stout burrowing rodent of the family Muridae that lives in river valleys, along lake shores, in irrigated land and in oases, from Egypt in the west to Xinjiang in China in the east, north to Uzbekistan and south to Bangladesh. It is also called the short-tailed mole-rat, Indian bandicoot, bandicoot-rat, flat-tooth rat and short-tailed nesokia. Adults weigh roughly 182 to 388 grams and are brown above and lighter below, sometimes with a white patch on the throat; the winter coat is long, dense and soft, while the summer coat is short, sparse and stubbly. The broad feet carry strong, nearly straight claws. The animal is nocturnal and spends most of its time in a burrow of many tunnels and chambers that can reach nine metres in length and about 60 centimetres in depth, with one chamber lined with vegetation for nesting. Gestation is believed to last about 17 days, with three generations a year and three to five pups per litter. It feeds on grasses, grains, roots and cultivated fruit and vegetables, and its tunnelling through irrigation canal walls and crops makes it a notable agricultural pest. Jackals, foxes, jungle cats, snakes and domestic cats and dogs prey on it.