Encyclopedia of Life · EOL (see source)
Species
Least ConcernObservations: Little is known about the longevity of these animals, but one specimen was still alive after 7.1 years in captivity (Richard Weigl 2005).
via IUCN
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The dassie rat or noki (Petromus typicus) is a diurnal African rodent native to rocky outcrops in Namibia, parts of Angola, and northwestern South Africa. It is the only living member of its genus, Petromus, and family, Petromuridae. Key features of the dassie rat include a flattened skull and flexible ribs, allowing it to squeeze into extremely narrow rock crevices. The name "dassie" means "hyrax" in Afrikaans, and the two animals are found in similar habitats.
Petromus means "rock mouse" and dassie rats are one of many rodents sometimes called rock rats. The family and genus names are sometimes misspelled as Petromyidae and Petromys. The species is currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Dassie rat” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.