Lophiomyinae Skull Replica measures 2.5 inches. Lophiomyinae Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane resin cast. Known as Maned Rat
Lophiomyinae is an Old World cricetid subfamily containing just one genus and one species, Lophiomys imhausi, or crested rats.
The Lophiomyinae or Maned rat is a nocturnal, long-haired and bushy-tailed East African rodent that superficially resembles a porcupine.
The world’s only poisonous rodent, the Maned rat borrows toxins from plants to fend off predators.
The Lophiomyinae or Maned rat’s body can grow up to 14 inches long, or 21 inches from head to tail. The coat consists of long, silver and black-tipped guard hairs over a dense, woolly, grey and white undercoat, with the face and limbs having short, black fur.
Lophiomyinae Crested rats are large rodents, ranging from 255 to 360 mm in head and body length. The tail adds another 140 to 215 mm, and these rodents weigh 590 to 920 grams.
Females are generally larger than males. Maned rats are stockily built, with short snouts, broad heads, short legs, and wide feet. They have short ears. Their fur is long, thick, and fine-textured, except for a middorsal crest of coarse hairs that can be erected.
Flanking the crest are prominant rows of scent glands. When it has its crest raised, a Maned rat resembles a miniature porcupine. The coat is boldly patterned with black and white (or brown and white) stripes or patches.
The underparts are gray to black, and the feet are black. The tail is short and bushy, and the soles of the feet are hairless. Maned rats have semi-opposable big toes, making them well-suited to their arboreal lifestyle.
The dental formula of The Lophiomyinae or Maned rat is 1/1, 0/0, 0/0, 3/3 = 16. The incisors are smooth and orthodont, and the molars are rooted and cuspidate. Each zygomatic plate bears a prominant tubercle where the superficial masseter attaches.
They have long incisive foramina, which extend back beyond the anterior margins of the molar rows. They also have a long, wide mesopterygoid fossa that extends between the third molars.
There are small sphenopalatine vacuities, and a wide region of the squamosal separates the foramen ovale and masticatory foramen.
The paroccipital processes are long and thick. The tympanic bullae of the Lophiomyinae or Maned rat are medium-sized, and there is an accessory tympanum. The malleus is of parallel construction, and a small orbicularis apophysis is present.
