Asian climbing rats
| Asian climbing rats | ||||||||||||
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Delacour climbing rat ( Hapalomys delacouri ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hapalomys | ||||||||||||
| Blyth , 1859 |
The Asian climbing rats ( Hapalomys ) are a genus of rodents from the group of old world mice (Murinae). The genus includes three types.
General
Asian climbing rats reach a head body length of 12 to 17 centimeters, plus a 14 to 20 centimeter long tail. The soft, dense fur is colored red-gray to gray-brown on the upper side, the underside including the paws are white. The long tail is sparsely hairy, the paws are adapted to the climbing way of life: the toes are long, the first toe is opposable .
These rodents are native to Southeast Asia , their range extends from southern China to the Malay Peninsula . Their habitat are tropical rainforests. They can climb well and mostly hang out in the trees. During the day they retreat to a self-made nest, at night they go in search of food. At least one species, H. longicaudatus , lives mostly on bamboo plants and builds their nests in hollow stems. Their diet consists of saplings, flowers and fruits.
Systematics
According to Wilson & Reeder (2005), the Asian climbing rats are part of the Micromys group within the old world mice. Lecompte et al. (2008) question this classification and list the genus under incertae sedis , i.e. with an unclear status.
There are three types:
- Delacour climbing rat ( Hapalomys delacouri ) lives in southern China (including Hainan Island ) and northern Vietnam and Laos.
- The long-tailed climbing rat ( Hapalomys longicaudatus ) is only found in isolated places from southern Myanmar and Thailand to the Malay Peninsula.
- Hapalomys suntsovi from southern Vietnam.
Main threat to Asian tylomys, the destruction is their habitat. The IUCN lists H. longicaudatus as "high risk" ( endangered ) and H. delacouri as "endangered" ( vulnerable ).
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
- Emilie Lecompte, Ken Aplin, Christiane Denys, François Catzeflis, Marion Chades, Pascale Chevret: Phylogeny and biogeography of African Murinae based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, with a new tribal classification of the subfamily. In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. Vol. 8, 199, 2008, pp. 1-21, doi : 10.1186 / 1471-2148-8-199 .
Individual evidence
- ^ AV Abramov, AE Balakirev and VV Rozhnov. 2017. New Insights Into the Taxonomy of the Marmoset Rats Hapalomys (Rodentia: Muridae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 65: 20-28.
