NATIVE-RANGE ECOLOGY AND INVASIVE POTENTIAL OF CRICETOMYS IN NORTH AMERICA

African giant pouched rats (Cricetomys) are native to tropical Africa, where they range from Senegal and Gambia east across West Africa and the Congo Basin to the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa. Ecological niche models show that Cricetomys species differ in their invasive potential. Although neither of the presently recognized Cricetomys species appears to have genuinely broad distributional potential in North America, models predict that C. emini would have extremely restricted distributional potential, whereas C. gambianus would have a broader potential across the southeastern United States.