Lesser cane rat
Thryonomys gregorianus (Thomas, 1894)
The lesser cane rat (Thryonomys gregorianus) is a species in the family Thryonomyidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 2.29 kg to 2.71 kg and live up to 0.833 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
No freely licensed photo yet
Quick facts about the lesser cane rat
- Weight
- 2.29 kg – 2.71 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 0.833 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 91.3 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.91src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src 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 lesser cane rat live?
Not recorded
What is the lesser cane rat?
The lesser cane rat (Thryonomys gregorianus) is a species of rodent in the family Thryonomyidae. It is found in Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Mozambique. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, and shrub-dominated wetlands.
From the Wikipedia article “Lesser cane rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesser_cane_rat&oldid=1383417302), 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 lesser cane rat endangered?
The lesser 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 lesser cane rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyThryonomyidae
- genusThryonomys
- SpeciesThryonomys gregorianus (Thomas, 1894)
Synonyms Aulacodus gregorianus, Thryonomys gregorianus gregorianus, Thryonomys gregorianus sclateri
Other names and names in other languages (13)
- جرذ الخيزران الصغيرArabic
- řekomyš menšíCzech
- Kleine RohrratteGerman
- Rata de Caña de las MarismasSpanish
- ruokorottaFinnish
- Petit aulacodeFrench
- ヒメヨシネズミJapanese
- SmårørrotteNorwegian Bokmål
- Kleine RietratDutch
- szczeciniec mniejszyPolish
- Ratos-de-Cana-PequenoPortuguese
- Малая тростниковая крысаRussian
- 草原蔗鼠Chinese
Relatives of the lesser cane rat
Other species in the same genus Thryonomys.
Greater cane rat
Thryonomys swinderianus
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the lesser cane rat?
An adult lesser cane rat weighs 2.29 kg – 2.71 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the lesser cane rat endangered?
The lesser 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 lesser cane rat live?
The lesser cane rat has a recorded lifespan of 0.833 years.
How long is the lesser cane rat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 91.3 days.
What kind of animal is the lesser cane rat?
The lesser cane rat (Thryonomys gregorianus) 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 - 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). Lesser cane rat (Thryonomys gregorianus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-cane-rat
“Lesser cane rat (Thryonomys gregorianus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-cane-rat.
@misc{lesser_cane_rat_2026,
title = {Lesser cane rat (Thryonomys gregorianus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-cane-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}