rice rat

American  

noun

1. any rat of the genus Oryzomys, having an exceptionally long tail, especially O. palustris, inhabiting rice fields and marshes of the southern U.S., Mexico, and Central America.

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Etymology

Origin of rice rat

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

"For example, the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, whose original habitat was the Patagonian Andes and north-western Argentina, can now be found in the province of Buenos Aires alongside other rodents that transmit the disease."

From BBC • May 10, 2026

The researchers placed the small-eared pygmy rice rat into a plastic chamber and piped in anesthetic gas until it rolled over, asleep.

From Reuters • Aug. 5, 2023

The pygmy rice rat in Tamaulipas was collected in grass.

From The Recent Mammals of Tamaulipas, Mexico by Alvarez, Ticul