Tete veld aethomys

The Tete veld aethomys, also called the Tete veld rat (Aethomys ineptus), is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in South Africa and Eswatini. It is moderately sized, with a head-body length of 12 to 18 cm, an almost hairless tail of 14 to 17 cm and a weight of 65 to 107 g. The fur is reddish-brown ticked with blackish hairs, giving an overall shade from brown to cinnamon, and the underparts are white or very pale grey, sharply set off from the rest of the body. It is a cryptic species: it looks the same as the closely related red rock rat and was thought to be a subspecies of it until genetic analysis in 1998 showed the two are distinct, and apart from chromosomes or mitochondrial DNA only the unusual spatulated shape of its sperm reliably separates them. Tete veld rats are nocturnal and primarily herbivorous, eating vegetation and especially seeds, while insects make up to 9% of the diet. They breed in summer and autumn and may have up to two litters a year of up to three young. The common name refers to the type locality, Tete, on the Zambesi River.