The scientific name for the rakali (also commonly known as the Australian water-rat) is Hydromys chrysogaster, which is derived from Latin words meaning “golden-bellied water mouse”. The aboriginal name “rakali” was originally given to this species by the Ngarrindjeri people – the traditional inhabitants of the lower Murray River and Coorong region of South Australia.
The rakali is believed to have originally dispersed to Australia from New Guinea, where several related species are found today (Watts and Aslin 1981; Bettink 2016).
Photo courtesy of Bob Godwin
LITERATURE CITED
Bettink KA (2016) Shedding light on rakali: genetic and morphological differentiation in the Australo-Papuan goldenbellied water rat (Hydromys chrysogaster), with notes on the Barrow Island population. PhD Thesis, University of Western Australia, Nedlands.
Van Dyck S, Gynther I and Baker A (2013) Field Companion to The Mammals of Australia. New Holland Publishers: Sydney.
Watts CHS and Aslin HJ (1981) The Rodents of Australia. Angus & Robertson: Sydney.