Biak giant rat
| Biak giant rat | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Uromys boeadii | ||||||||||||
| Flannery & Groves , 1994 |
The Biak giant rat ( Uromys boeadii ) is a barely researched rodent belonging to the genus of the mosaic-tailed giant rats . It is endemic to the island of Biak . It is unclear whether it also occurs on the neighboring island of Supiori . The specific epithet honors the Indonesian zoologist Bapak Boeadi .
features
The only known specimen has a head-torso length of 255 mm, a tail length of 235 mm, a hind foot length of 62 mm and an ear length of 25 mm. The species looks very similar to the Bismarck giant rat ( Uromys neobritannicus ) from the island of New Britain , but the belly is predominantly brown and there is a small white spot on the chest. In addition, the golden protective hair and the dark circles under the eyes, which characterize the Bismarck giant rat, are missing.
Habitat and way of life
The Biak giant rat inhabits tropical wet forests. Nothing is known about their way of life.
status
The holotype , an adult male, was collected by Peter Temple-Smith on March 23, 1963, 25 kilometers northeast of the town of Biak at an altitude of 65 m. Three subsequent expeditions on Biak did not produce any results. During an expedition on Biak and Supiori in September 1992, Tim Flannery could not prove any specimen either. The IUCN classifies the species in the critically endangered category . The main threat is deforestation. 50 percent of the former forest area on Biak has so far been lost.
literature
- Colin P. Groves , Tim F. Flannery : A revision of the genus Uromys Peters, 1867 (Muridae: Mammalia) with descriptions of two new species. In: Records of the Australian Museum. Vol. 46, No. 2, 1994, ISSN 0067-1975 , pp. 145-169, doi : 10.3853 / j.0067-1975.46.1994.12 .
- Tim Flannery: Mammals of the South-West Pacific & Moluccan Islands. Reed, Chatswood 1995, ISBN 0-7301-0417-6 .
Web links
- Uromys boeadii in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Leary, T., Seri, L. Flannery, T. Wright, D., Hamilton, S., slipway, K., Singadan, R., Allison, A., James, R., Bonaccorso, F. & Aplin, K., 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2010.