rock ratn.
/ˈrɒk rat/, U.S. /ˈrɑk ˌræt/ 1. † a. A rodent-like animal inhabiting rocky areas in the Middle East (not identified). Obsolete.Perhaps a marmot (genus Marmota) or a rock hyrax ( Procavia).
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1702 H. Ross tr. C. Le Cène Ess. New Transl. Bible (new ed.) ii. iii. 56 Arabia and Palestin did abound with a kind of Animal which may not improperly be called a Rock-rat.
1816 J. Hewlett Comm. & Annot. Holy Script. III. xxx. 45 Instead of ‘coneys’, or ‘rabbits’, some commentators are of the opinion, that the bear-mouse, the mountain-mouse, the rock-rat, or the ashkoko.., is here meant.
b. Any of various rodents of the family Muridae inhabiting rocky areas; spec. †(a) = rock mouse n. 1(a) (obsolete); (b) any of several Australian thick-tailed rats constituting the genus Zyzomys; (c) any of several African bush rats constituting the genus Aethomys (also called rock mouse).
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Myomorpha (mouse, rat, vole, or hamster) > [noun] > family Muridae > other types of mouse or rat
rock rat1781
Otomys1834
rabbit rat1837
deer-mouse1840
bamboo rat1881
muskrat1884
sigmodont1884
grasshopper mouse1888
veld rat1905
striped mouse1932
Sprague-Dawley1951
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Myomorpha (mouse, rat, vole, or hamster) > [noun] > family Muridae > genus Mus or mouse > other types of
rock rat1781
rock mouse1843
pouched mouse1853
coffee-rat1859
bush-rat1867
brown-footed rat1884
rex1928
1781 T. Pennant Hist. Quadrupeds II. 450 Rock Rat, Mus Saxatilis.
1801 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. II. 72 The Mus Saxatilis or Rock Rat was first described by Dr. Pallas.
1970 W. D. L. Ride Guide Native Mammals Austral. ix. 148 Adults of these rock-rats are easily recognized because they have thick tails.
1983 R. M. Nowak & J. L. Paradiso Walker's Mammals of World (ed. 4) II. 728/1 Genus Aethomys Thomas, 1915. Bush Rats, Rock Rats. There are two subgenera and nine species.
1997 Jrnl. Royal Soc. W. Austral. 80 159 No mammals appear to be restricted to granite outcrops, although a number are rock specialists (e.g. rock wallabies.., rock rats.., [etc.]).
2. Any of several rat-like rodents of other families inhabiting rocky areas; spec. (a) the dassie rat, Petromus typicus (family Petromuridae), of southern Africa; (b) either of two burrowing South American rodents constituting the genus Aconaemys (family Octodontidae).
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Hystricomorpha (porcupine or guinea-pig) > [noun] > family Octodontidae
Octodon1832
octodont1890
rock rat1890
1890 Cent. Dict. Rock-rat, an African rodent of the genus Petromys, P. typicus.
1962 M. Burton Syst. Dict. Mammals of World 99 Rock Rat (Petromus typicus), of S.W. Africa, rat-like in size and colour, bushy tail.
1964 E. P. Walker et al. Mammals of World II. 1045/2 Rock rats [sc. Aconaemys] are active beneath the snow in winter.
1984 D. Macdonald Encycl. Mammals II. 703/3 Cane rats and the African rock rat are African rodents sufficiently distinctive to be placed in families of their own.
1991 Lat. Amer. Antiq. 2 94 (table) Octodontidae: degu, coruro, and rock rats.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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