muskrat

noun

1. A semiaquatic rodent of the tribe Ondatrini.

   “1865, Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, Chapter IX. "The Sea and the Desert", page 187. He also said that minks, muskrats, foxes, coons, and wild mice were found there, but no squirrels.”

   “Later, dozing in the lamplight, he saw muskrats everywhere. Their small supple forms slipped busily along the floor at dusk, continually perfecting their burrows. He saw them pulling soft weeds and holding juicy roots in their tiny paws to eat.”

2. Any of several shrews in the family Soricidae, especially an Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus).
3. (obsolete)A bandicoot rat.