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The Round-tailed Muskrat
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# : |
23300 |
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Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 2003 |
223 Words |
| Author
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Dwight G. Smith is professor and chairman of the biology
department at Southern Connecticut State University in New
Haven. His latest book, Plants, was released this summer by
Pearson Publishing Company of Boston. |
In Florida's wetlands and Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the round-tailed muskrat (Neofiber alleni) replaces the common muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) that inhabits most other wetlands of North America. Also called the Florida water rat or prairie rat, it looks like a smaller version of the muskrat. As its name suggests, its tail is cylindrical, while that of the common muskrat is flattened.
The round-tailed muskrat is about a foot long (including the tail) and weighs half a pound. Like its larger relative, it builds a lodge and a feeding platform in its territory. The lodge, made of tightly interwoven marsh grasses, is built a few inches above the waterline and has one or two plunge holes (openings into the water).
The animal's favorite foods include maiden cane and the rootstocks of rushes, sedges, and water lilies. Under favorable conditions of food and climate, breeding can occur year round, producing 4--6 litters, with 2--3 young per litter. The animal's main predators are hawks, owls, alligators, otters, and large snakes.
Round-tailed muskrats are too small to be profitably harvested for food or fur. In addition, they may annoy farmers by damaging sugarcane fields. Yet, they play an important role in maintaining ecological balance in their habitat. It is of concern, therefore, that the alteration and destruction of wetlands across the Floridian peninsula have placed many populations of these animals in
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