Tachyoryctes Rex - Distribution, Ecology, and Behavior

Distribution, Ecology, and Behavior

Tachyoryctes rex is found on the western slope of Mount Kenya, Kenya, at 2,600 to 3,350 m (8,500 to 11,000 ft) in altitude. It is common in a limited area, at the upper edge of the bamboo forest and lower edge of the moorland. A female found on October 5 had a large embryo. T. rex builds large mounds with diameters up to 6 m (20 ft). Some have interpreted these mounds as being built by termites instead. From those mounds, burrows may extend up to 50 m (160 ft) and be up to 1 m (3 ft) deep. One chamber is used for urination and defecation and to store plant matter; it produces a substantial amount of heat. In other chambers, T. rex builds large nests of grass. The animal eats plant roots. Its presence results in a change in vegetation on the mounds, which have fewer grasses and more woody plants, either because the animal eats plant roots or because the soil is altered.

Read more about this topic:  Tachyoryctes Rex

Famous quotes containing the word behavior:

    He is not a true man of science who does not bring some sympathy to his studies, and expect to learn something by behavior as well as by application. It is childish to rest in the discovery of mere coincidences, or of partial and extraneous laws. The study of geometry is a petty and idle exercise of the mind, if it is applied to no larger system than the starry one.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)