📸 PhotoPhoto: David Menke · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Common Muskrat
Ondatra zibethicus (Common Muskrat · マスクラット)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A maximum weight of 1.82 kg is about a 1 kg bag of rice plus one and a half 500 mL bottles of water, and a body length of 33 cm is 3 cm longer than a 30 cm ruler (Comparison).
- 💡 It has been raised for fur and as a pet, and its meat is edible for humans (National List of Species of Korea, Animal Diversity Web).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Common Muskrat is a semiaquatic rodent native to North America that digs burrows in river and pond banks and feeds on aquatic plants.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It has large front and hind feet, with rows of stiff hairs along the hind toes that act like webbing. Its long tail is flattened side to side like an oar, and its fur is dense and glossy.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It eats the roots and stems of aquatic plants as well as bivalves and submerged vegetation, and builds domed lodges on the water surface. Gestation lasts 25–30 days, and females give birth to 1–11 young per litter.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed as "Sahyangjwi" (Korean name) in the National List of Species of Korea and is native to North America; it is also raised for fur or kept as a pet.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2016) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15324/22344525
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1002193
- • iucnredlist.org — 22344525
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000053455 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000053455
- • wikidata.org — Q26283
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Ondatra zibethicus FWS.jpg
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • animaldiversity.org — Ondatra zibethicus
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.