Distribution and Habitat
Red rock rats are widely distributed across southern Africa, although the exact southern edge of their range is difficult to determine because of their extreme physical similarity to Tete veld rats, which are found in South Africa and Swaziland. Nonetheless, red rock rats are currently believed to live in east Africa from southern Kenya, through eastern Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to the north-eastern border regions of South Africa. Further west, they are found through most of Zambia and Botswana to northern Namibia and south-western Angola.
Across this region, red rock rats inhabit savannah or woodland areas with dense vegetation or rocky cover below 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) elevation. They are often associated with miombo and mopane forest, but appear able to tolerate a wide range of habitats, so long as there is substantial ground cover.
Although at least seven subspecies of red rock rat have been identified, the validity of some of these is questionable, not least because of potential confusion with Tete veld rats in earlier works. Fossils indistinguishable from the modern species have been found as far back as 3.7 million years ago, in the late Pliocene of South Africa.
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