Dasymys

{{Short description|Genus of rodents}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Late Pliocene to Recent

| taxon = Dasymys

| authority = Peters, 1875

| type_species = Dasymys gueinzii

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = about 11, see text

}}

Dasymys is a genus of semiaquatic rodents in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World rats and mice. The genus is endemic to Africa.[http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=13001318 Monatsb. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss., Berlin: 12.] In: Wilson, D. E. & D. M. Reeder. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed). Johns Hopkins University Press. 2005.

These rats are wetland habitat specialists, occurring in marshy areas with wet ground and thick vegetation, such as swamps and vleis. They swim well. They are nocturnal and solitary.Mullin, S. K., et al. (2004). [http://bylaws.durban.gov.za/Documents/DiscoverDurban/Museums%20and%20Durban%20Art%20Gallery/15_08MULLIN.pdf Skull size and shape of Dasymys (Rodentia, Muridae) from sub-Saharan Africa.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233944/http://bylaws.durban.gov.za/Documents/DiscoverDurban/Museums%20and%20Durban%20Art%20Gallery/15_08MULLIN.pdf |date=2013-12-02 }} Mammalia 68(2-3), 185-220. Species are more common in the northern regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, likely because their wetland habitat is more degraded in southern regions.Mullin, S. K., et al. (2005). [http://www.cityofdurban.co.za/Documents/DiscoverDurban/Museums%20and%20Durban%20Art%20Gallery/14_Mullin_et_al_SAJS2005.pdf The distribution of the water rat Dasymys (Muridae) in Africa: a review.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202231957/http://www.cityofdurban.co.za/Documents/DiscoverDurban/Museums%20and%20Durban%20Art%20Gallery/14_Mullin_et_al_SAJS2005.pdf |date=2013-12-02 }} South African Journal of Science 101(3), 117-24.

The genus is not well studied and its taxonomy is not clear. The number of species and their relationships have only been tentatively determined.

Species include:

• Dasymys alleni – Glover Allen's dasymys
• Dasymys cabrali – Crawford-Cabral's dasymys
• Dasymys foxi – Fox's shaggy rat
• Dasymys incomtus – African marsh rat
• Dasymys montanus – Montane shaggy rat
• Dasymys nudipes – Angolan marsh rat
• Dasymys robertsii - Robert's shaggy rat
• Dasymys rufulus – West African shaggy rat
• Dasymys rwandae – Rwandan dasymys
• Dasymys shortridgei
• Dasymys sua – Tanzanian dasymys