A rat with large cheek pouches for carrying food, it rests in burrows or hollow trees by day and searches for food at night.
It has coarse brown fur, dark rings around the eyes and a long scaly tail. Large cheek pouches let it carry food.
Researchers surveyed small mammals in six vegetation types on the University of Ibadan campus in southwestern Nigeria from 2019 to 2021. They sampled during both wet and dry seasons and recorded 113 small mammals, including rodents and shrews. The sites included different planted and farmed areas across the campus.
The Gambian Rat accounted for 69% of the captured small mammals and was the only species recorded in all six vegetation types. Species composition varied among vegetation types, and the highest diversity index was reported in a plantain plantation.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Gambian Rats were recorded in all six vegetation types surveyed on the University of Ibadan campus.