---
title: "Moerasrat"
description: "Otomys irroratus — Zoogdieren. The Southern African vlei rat (Otomys irroratus) is a species of rodent in the vlei rat genus, Otomys, of the family Muridae in the order Rodentia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/southern-vlei-rat
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Moerasrat

> Otomys irroratus — Zoogdieren. The Southern African vlei rat (Otomys irroratus) is a species of rodent in the vlei rat genus, Otomys, of the family Muridae in the order Rodentia.

- Scientific name: *Otomys irroratus*
- Category: `mammals` (Zoogdieren)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Weiden en velden), `freshwater` (Meren en rivieren)
- iNaturalist observations: 581
- Wikidata: [Q1770872](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1770872)
- iNaturalist taxon: [45437](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/45437)

## Names

- en: Southern Vlei Rat
- de: Südafrikanische Lamellenzahnratte
- fr: Rat du vlei d’Afrique du Sud
- nl: Moerasrat
- pl: Uszkor bagienny

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (352)

## Summary

The Southern African vlei rat (Otomys irroratus) is a species of rodent in the vlei rat genus, Otomys, of the family Muridae in the order Rodentia. This is the type species of the genus. It is native to the grasslands and swamps of southern Africa where it is a common species.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_African_vlei_rat

## Photo

![Moerasrat](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/southern-vlei-rat/medium.jpg)

Photo: Di Turner · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11123041

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/southern-vlei-rat?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).