Otomysn.
/ˈəʊtəmɪs/, U.S. /ˈoʊdəməs/ Zoology.
An African genus of herbivorous vole-like rodents of the family Muridae which inhabit damp grassy areas and are characterized by a groove in each incisor tooth; a rodent of this genus (also called swamp rat, vlei rat).
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Myomorpha (mouse, rat, vole, or hamster) > [noun] > family Muridae > other types of mouse or rat
rock rat1781
Otomys1834
rabbit rat1837
deer-mouse1840
bamboo rat1881
muskrat1884
sigmodont1884
grasshopper mouse1888
veld rat1905
striped mouse1932
Sprague-Dawley1951
1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (abridged ed.) 86 The Otomys are nearly allied to the Field Rats.
1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (abridged ed.) 86 (The Cape Otomys.) Size of a rat; fur marked with black and fawn-coloured rings.
1859 S. G. Goodrich Illustr. Nat. Hist. Animal Kingdom I. 437 The Caffrarian Otomys, O. unisulcatus, is of a greyish fawn, six inches long... It is found at the Cape of Good Hope.
1967 M. J. Coe Ecol. Alpine Zone Mt. Kenya 97 Below in the tussock grassland the Otomys Rats live in burrows.
1991 R. M. Nowak Walker's Mammals of World (ed. 5) II. 721/2 The head of Otomys is rounded and rather volelike, and the ears are relatively small.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1834