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Chiruromys is a genus of Old World mice nativeto New Guinea , the nearby Louisiade Archipelago , D'Entrecasteaux Islands , Goodenough, and Fergusson and Normanby .
General
This genus includes small, rat-like animals with long tails that are adapted to an arboreal way of life. The length of the head and trunk is between 8.4 and 17.5 centimeters, the length of the tail 12.8 to 24.5 centimeters and the weight 23 to 122 grams ( Nowak, 1999 ). The fur is reddish, grayish, or brownish and the belly is white. They live in forests and spend most of their lives in the canopy of trees. Their diet consists mainly of young leaves. The females have six teats. The litter consists of one to three cubs who are born in a tree hole.
According to the IUCN , none of the species is endangered.
Systematics
For a long time, Chiruromys was considered to be a sub-genus of the prey-tail rats ( Pogonomys ). By analyzing the morphology and chromosomes , the Australian scientists Elizabeth Dennis and Jim Menzies found out in 1979 that the two taxa are not closely related and classified Chiruromys as a separate genus. Musser & Carleton (2005) classified the genus in the Pogonomys group , a radiation of the Old World mice that is predominantly found in New Guinea.
The following types are known:
- Great tree rat ( Chiruromys forbesi )
- Little Tree Rat ( Chiruromys vates )
- Wide head hutia ( chiruromys lamia )
A fourth, previously undescribed species is endemic to the Louisiade archipelago.
literature
- Elizabeth Dennis, JI Menzies: A chromosomal and morphometric study of Papuan tree rats Pogonomys and Chiruromys (Rodentia, Muridae). In: Journal of Zoology. Vol. 189, No. 3, November 1979, pp. 315-332, doi : 10.1111 / j.1469-7998.1979.tb03965.x .
- JI Menzies, Elizabeth Dennis: Handbook of New Guinea Rodents (= Handbook of the Wau Ecology Institute. Vol. 6, ZDB -ID 751237-5 ). Wau Ecology Institute, Papua New Guinea 1979.
- Guy G. Musser , Michael D. Carleton : Superfamily Muroidea. In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. Volume 2. 3rd edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 , pp. 894-1531.
- 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 .
Web links
- Chiruromys on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. Retrieved October 9, 2009.