Greater Bandicoot Rat – Bandicota indica

Bandicota indicaBechstein, 1800

Accepted name, Mammal Species of the World 2005

Usually sympatric with one or other of B. bengalensis and B. savilei in the Indomalayan region (Musser and Brothers, 1994). In C Burma all three species occur sympatrically in the rainfed rice production environment (K. Aplin, in litt., 2004). A careful systematic revision is necessary to assess the significance of morphological and biochemical variation within B. indica. Pradhan et al. (1989), for example, reported that B. gigantea is specifically distinct from B. indica, citing differences in body size, and haemoglobin and eye lens proteins. However, because the skull of the holotype of gigantea is broken and diagnostic traits of gigantea could not be confirmed, Pradhan et al. (1993) described this taxon as B. maxima, diagnosed primarily by large size, cuticular pattern of dorsal hairs, and certain cranial proportions. Agrawal (2000:151) noted that the difference in cranial proportions between B. indica a... [truncated]

• Wilson, D and Reeder, D. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. -- 2142 pp. Johns Hopkins University Press.