Greater cane rat
Thryonomys swinderianus (Temminck, 1827)
The greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) is a species in the family Thryonomyidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 3.18 kg to 3.75 kg and live up to 4.32 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the greater cane rat
- Weight
- 3.18 kg – 3.75 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 4.32 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 5.4 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 126 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.88src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 10.9 months – 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2.3src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the greater cane rat live?
Not recorded
What is the greater cane rat?
The greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus), also known as the grasscutter (in Ghana, Nigeria and other regions of West Africa), is one of two species of cane rats, a small family of African hystricognath rodents. It lives by reed-beds and riverbanks in Sub-Saharan Africa.
From the Wikipedia article “Greater cane rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greater_cane_rat&oldid=1369115104), 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 greater cane rat endangered?
The greater cane 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 greater cane rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyThryonomyidae
- genusThryonomys
- SpeciesThryonomys swinderianus (Temminck, 1827)
Synonyms Aulacodus swinderianus
Other names and names in other languages (25)
- Cutting-grassEnglish
- Grass cutterEnglish
- Marsh cane ratEnglish
- RietrotAfrikaans
- GrootrietrotAfrikaans
- AkrantieAkan
- جرذ الخيزران الكبيرArabic
- řekomyš africkáCzech
- Große RohrratteGerman
- AnyorDinka
- Ratta de Caña de AzucarSpanish
- Rata de Caña de la SabanaSpanish
- isoruokorottaFinnish
- Grand aulacodeFrench
- L'Aulacode GrandFrench
- Toio da Canna da ZuccheroItalian
- ヨシネズミJapanese
- StorrørrotteNorwegian Bokmål
- Grote RietratDutch
- szczeciniec większyPolish
- Rato-de-CanaPortuguese
- Большая тростниковая крысаRussian
- SibisïSango
- PoopooTswana
- 南撒哈拉蔗鼠Chinese
Relatives of the greater cane rat
Other species in the same genus Thryonomys.
Lesser cane rat
Thryonomys gregorianus
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the greater cane rat?
An adult greater cane rat weighs 3.18 kg – 3.75 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the greater cane rat endangered?
The greater cane rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the greater cane rat live?
The greater cane rat has a recorded lifespan of 4.32 years.
How long is the greater cane rat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 126 days.
What kind of animal is the greater cane rat?
The greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) belongs to the family Thryonomyidae 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). Greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/greater-cane-rat
“Greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/greater-cane-rat.
@misc{greater_cane_rat_2026,
title = {Greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/greater-cane-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}