Bamboo rat (scientific name: Bambusoideae) is an animal belonging to Bambusoideae, named after eating bamboo, which mainly feeds on bamboo, Miscanthus, plant straw and so on. Wild bamboos are very precious. There are 3 genera and 6 species in the world: 2 species of African bamboos (endemic to East Africa), 3 species of bamboos, voles 1 species (endemic to Asia, such as Chenzhou, Hunan), and 3 species 1 genus in China. Bamboo rats mainly inhabit tropical and subtropical forests, shrubs and bamboo forests in eastern Africa and southern Asia. Bamboo rat has been cultivated on a large scale in China, which has become one of the farming industries with economic benefits. Wild bamboo rats may carry viruses and cannot be eaten. The bamboo rats and their products circulating in the market are all raised artificially. White bamboo rat, big bamboo rat, Chinese bamboo rat and small bamboo rat are all "three protected animals" in the country, and it is illegal to catch them privately.
Bamboo rat is a kind of body mole, and its appearance is as strong as zokor. It's cylindrical. Blunt head, big kiss, small eyes, ears hidden in the coat. The tail is evenly covered with long, soft and thin hair, and the skin can be seen under perspective. Small foreleg, short claws, but strong, suitable for digging. The second and third fingers are almost equal.
The skull is thick, the zygomatic arch is dilated, the bone ridge is high and the muscles are developed; The upper incisors are particularly thick, 16 teeth. Among them, the Chinese bamboo rat is thick and cylindrical. Short limbs, but stout with claws, are tools for moving organs and digging holes for food. It has short tail, thick front teeth and short molars, and has the characteristics of rodents.
The adult bamboo rat is about 30 ~ 40 cm long, and some species, such as the big bamboo rat, can reach 45 cm long and weigh 2 ~ 4 kg. Powerful toes and claw tips; The whole body has long hair, but the tail is hairless or short and sparse, which is longer than the zokor; The body color changes with age, from deep to light, and the hair color of larvae is darker than that of adults. The whole body is dark gray and black. The coat on the back of the adult body is brown-gray, with a hundred-pointed needle hair. The coat on the nose, mouth and sides is slightly light, and the coat on the abdomen is sparse, white and dark, with shiny fine hair in the middle. Pink skin can be seen through the coat, and the coat on the instep and tail of an individual is grayish brown.