Dassie Rat
Petromus typicus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassMammalia (Mamífers)
- OrderRodentia (Rosegadors)
- FamilyPetromuridae (Dassie Rats)
- GenusPetromus
- SpeciesPetromus typicus (Dassie Rat)
The dassie rat or noki (Petromus typicus) is a diurnal African rodent native to rocky outcrops in Namibia, parts of Angola, and northwestern South Africa. It is the only living member of its genus, Petromus, and family, Petromuridae. Key features of the dassie rat include a flattened skull and flexible ribs, allowing it to squeeze into extremely narrow rock crevices. The name "dassie" means "hyrax" in Afrikaans, and the two animals are found in similar habitats. Petromus means "rock mouse" and dassie rats are one of many rodents sometimes called rock rats. The family and genus names are sometimes misspelled as Petromyidae and Petromys. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Etosha National Park
Cape Ground Squirrel
Xerus inauris
Smith's Bush Squirrel
Paraxerus cepapi
Congo Rope Squirrel
Funisciurus congicus
Black-tailed Tree Rat
Thallomys nigricauda
Cape Porcupine
Hystrix africaeaustralis
Namaqua Rock Rat
Micaelamys namaquensis
Pygmy Mouse
Mus minutoides
Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse
Rhabdomys pumilio
Springhare
Pedetes capensis
Acacia Rat
Thallomys paedulcus
pygmy rock mouse
Petromyscus collinus
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Dassie Rat at Etosha National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
🕐 When They’re Spotted
Sightings of Dassie Rat are recorded here, but fewer than 5 of them carry a time of day in GBIF — sighting probability uses whole days, so it is unaffected. The hourly pattern needs timestamps we don't have yet.
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia |