African grass rat
Arvicanthis niloticus (É. Geoffroy, 1803)
The African grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) is a species in the family Muridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 95.8 g to 106.9 g and live up to 6.68 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the African grass rat
- Weight
- 95.8 g – 106.9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 6.68 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 6.7 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 22 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 45 days – 51.9 dayssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 3.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the African grass rat live?
Not recorded
What is the African grass rat?
The African grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) is a species of rodent in the family Murinae.
From the Wikipedia article “African grass rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_grass_rat&oldid=1373061307), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the African grass rat endangered?
The African grass rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the African grass rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyMuridae
- genusArvicanthis
- SpeciesArvicanthis niloticus (É. Geoffroy, 1803)
Synonyms Arvicanthis abyssinicus centrosus, Arvicanthis abyssinicus rubescens, Arvicanthis jebelae, Arvicanthis niloticus, Arvicanthis niloticus naso, Arvicanthis testicularis solatus, Arvicola niloticus, Hypudaeus variegatus, Isomys testicularis, Isomys variegatus major, Isomys variegatus minor, Lemmus niloticus, Mus discolor
Other names and names in other languages (4)
- African ArvicanthisEnglish
- African ArvicanthisEnglish
- NilratteGerman
- Nil-GrasratteGerman
Relatives of the African grass rat
Other species in the same genus Arvicanthis.
Neumann's grass rat
Arvicanthis neumanni
Blick's grass rat
Arvicanthis blicki
Abyssinian grass rat
Arvicanthis abyssinicus
Nairobi grass rat
Arvicanthis nairobae
Sudanian grass rat
Arvicanthis ansorgei
Guinean grass rat
Arvicanthis rufinus
CompareAfrican grass rat vs Neumann's grass ratAfrican grass rat vs Blick's grass ratAfrican grass rat vs Abyssinian grass ratAfrican grass rat vs Nairobi grass rat
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the African grass rat?
An adult African grass rat weighs 95.8 g – 106.9 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the African grass rat endangered?
The African grass rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the African grass rat live?
The African grass rat has a recorded lifespan of 6.68 years.
How long is the African grass rat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 22 days.
What kind of animal is the African grass rat?
The African grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) belongs to the family Muridae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). African grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-grass-rat
“African grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-grass-rat.
@misc{african_grass_rat_2026,
title = {African grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-grass-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}