Aegialomys galapagoensis
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The Galápagos rice rat (Aegialomys galapagoensis), also known as the Galápagos oryzomys, is a species of rodent that is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. The Galapagos rice rat is a medium-sized rodent, with a head-body length of 20 to 35 centimetres (7.9 to 13.8 in), and a tail 14 to 17 centimetres (5.5 to 6.7 in) long. It has very long, soft and dense fur that is grizzled copper-brown above and yellowish-grey on the underparts. The ears are long and covered with dense hair, and the feet have large pads on the soles, with claws up to 2.5 millimetres (0.1 in) in length, suggesting that it has little, if any, climbing ability.
The Galapagos rice rat is found only in the eastern Galapagos. Today, it occurs only on Santa Fé Island, and possibly on Santiago Island. A separate population formerly existed on San Cristóbal Island, and is considered to represent a separate subspecies, but is thought to have been extinct for many decades. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The Galapagos rice rat is primarily nocturnal, but may sometimes be active before sunset, spending the day resting in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
More parks will be added in future updates.
No species of the same family or order lives in Galápagos Islands, so these are its closest relatives here: other mammals.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Galápagos Rice Rat sighting in Galápagos Islands on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 12 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, April–June, August, October and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Galápagos Rice Rat in Galápagos Islands on a given day, against under 5% in January, March, July, September and November, the lowest months.
Between 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Galápagos Rice Rat sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Galápagos Islands, in our data
Galápagos Islands is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Galápagos Rice Rat sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Galápagos Rice Rat is recorded against all the mammals logged in Galápagos Islands (18 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
