Indian bush rat
Golunda ellioti Gray, 1837
The Indian bush rat (Golunda ellioti) is a species in the family Muridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 60.7 g to 60.9 g and live up to 2.41 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the Indian bush rat
- Weight
- 60.9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 2.41 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.17src for Young per litter or clutch
- 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 Indian bush rat live?
Not recorded
What is the Indian bush rat?
The Indian bush rat (Golunda ellioti) is a rodent species in the family Muridae. It is the only extant member of the genus Golunda, and is the only extant member of the tribe Arvicanthini found outside of Africa.
The species is widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent west to Kohat and east to Guwahati. It also occurs in Sri Lanka. In addition, an isolated population exists in southeastern Iran. As many as 11 subspecies are recognized.
The genus name is derived from the Kannada name of Gulandi while the specific name is after Sir Walter Elliot. The nominate form is from southern India. Other forms include limitaris (northwestern limits), paupera (Punjab), watsoni (Sind), gujerati (Gujarat), bombax (Bombay), coraginis (Coorg), coffaeus (Sri Lanka), newera (Sri Lanka), myiothrix (Nepal) and coenosa (Bhutan Duars, Hasimara).
From the Wikipedia article “Indian bush rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indian_bush_rat&oldid=1344759024), 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 Indian bush rat endangered?
The Indian bush 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 Indian bush rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyMuridae
- genusGolunda
- SpeciesGolunda ellioti Gray, 1837
Synonyms Golunda coffaeus, Golunda ellioti bombax, Golunda ellioti coenosa, Golunda ellioti coraginis, Golunda ellioti gujerati, Golunda ellioti limitaris, Golunda ellioti paupera, Mus hirsutus, Mus myothrix, Mus newara, Pelomys watsoni
Other names and names in other languages (9)
- Coffee ratEnglish
- Indian bush-ratEnglish
- Indian bush-ratEnglish
- krysa křovinnáCzech
- intianpensasrottaFinnish
- Ratto dei boschi indianoItalian
- エリオットヤブネズミJapanese
- golunda dekańskaPolish
- Индийская крысаRussian
Relatives of the Indian bush rat
Other species in the same genus Golunda.
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the Indian bush rat?
An adult Indian bush rat weighs 60.9 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the Indian bush rat endangered?
The Indian bush rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the Indian bush rat live?
The Indian bush rat has a recorded lifespan of 2.41 years.
What kind of animal is the Indian bush rat?
The Indian bush rat (Golunda ellioti) 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).
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CreatureData. (2026). Indian bush rat (Golunda ellioti). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-bush-rat
“Indian bush rat (Golunda ellioti).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-bush-rat.
@misc{indian_bush_rat_2026,
title = {Indian bush rat (Golunda ellioti)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-bush-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}