BANDICOOT RAT

(species Bandicota indica), large, blackish brown burrowing rat belonging to the family Muridae (order Rodentia), of India and Sri Lanka; sometimes called mole rat. The bandicoot rat has a short head, broad muzzle, and a scaly, almost hairless tail. It weighs 0.5 to 1.4 kg (1 to 3 pounds) and is 20 to 38 cm (8 to 15 inches) long, with the tail an additional 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches). An inhabitant of forest, cultivated land, villages, and towns, the bandicoot rat is destructive to crops, grain, and poultry. Litter size is probably large, since the female has 12 teats. An allied species, called the pest rat, short-tailed bandicoot, or mole rat (Nesokia indica), inhabits southwestern Asia. A large, burrowing rodent, it also is destructive to crops. The bandicoot rat is said to grunt like a pig, and a Telugu name pandi-koku (meaning pig-rat) has been corrupted into bandicoot. The name has since been applied to a family (Peramelidae) of Australian marsupials.