Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 14, 2010

The marsh rice rat is a semiaquatic North American rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found mostly in the eastern and southern United States, from New Jersey and Kansas south to Florida and northeasternmost Tamaulipas, Mexico; its range previously extended further west and north, where it may have been a commensal in corn-cultivating communities. It usually occurs in wet habitats such as swamps and saltmarshes. Weighing about 40 to 80 g (1.4 to 2.8 oz), the marsh rice rat is a medium-sized rodent that resembles the common black and brown rat. The upperparts are generally gray-brown, but reddish in many Florida populations. The hindfeet show several specializations for life in the water. The skull is large and flattened and is short at the front. John Bachman discovered the marsh rice rat in 1816 and it was formally described in 1837. Several subspecies have been described since the 1890s, mainly from Florida, but there is disagreement over their validity. The marsh rice rat is active during the night and builds nests of sedge and grass and occasionally runways. It has a diverse diet that includes plants, fungi, and a variety of animals. Litters of generally three to five young are born after a pregnancy of about 25 days, mainly during the summer. Several animals prey on the marsh rice rat, including the barn owl, and it usually lives for less than a year in the wild. It is infected by many different parasites and harbors a hantavirus that also infects humans. (more...)

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