Indochinese wood rat
| Indochinese wood rat | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rattus andamanensis | ||||||||||||
| ( Blyth , 1860) |
The Indochinese forest rat ( Rattus andamanensis ) is a representative of this genus in the mountain rainforests of Southeast Asia, very similar to the house rat . This species is often described as R. sikkimensis (Musser & Newcomb, 1983) or R. remotus (Robinson & Kloss, 1914; e.g. on Ko Samui). Very little is known about its ecology and it is not described as a pest.
features
The Indochinese forest rat is a relatively large rat with a head-to-trunk length of 12.8 to 18.5 centimeters and a tail length of 17.5 to 22.2 centimeters and a weight of 12 to 155 grams. The long and thick back fur is colored in various shades of brown and consists of a mixture of brown and black-tipped hair with individual long black hairs along most of the center line. This differs from other rat species, in which black hair is maximally in the area of the abdomen. The peritoneum is white to beige and is very sharply separated from the fur on the back, individual hair areas form light gray spots due to their gray hairlines. The tail is longer than the rest of the body, it is colored a solid dark brown. The feet are dark brown on top. The hind feet reach a length of 32 to 34 millimeters, the ears a length of 20 to 25 millimeters.
The skull is strongly built and has a wide snout region, but a comparatively small tympanic bladder . The molars are large and strong.
distribution
This rat is found in the Southeast Asian highlands. The distribution area extends from Nepal in the west via Bhutan , the northeast Indian regions Sikkim , West Bengal , Arunachal Pradesh , Nagaland and Meghalaya as well as the South Chinese (provinces Yúnnán , Guǎngxī , Fújiàn and the islands of Hainan and Hong Kong ) to the South China Sea in the east. It extends further south through central and northern Burma , Vietnam , Laos , Thailand and Cambodia . Furthermore, this species occurs on some islands ( Ko Tao , Ko Pha-ngan , Ko Samui and Ko Kra ) in the Gulf of Thailand as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands .
Habitat
The Indochinese forest rat lives in evergreen mountain rainforests , but is sometimes found near human settlements, for example in bamboo groves and gardens. It does not penetrate into buildings.
Systematics
The Indochinese forest rat is classified as an independent species within the rats (genus Rattus ) and there with the house rat ( Rattus rattus ) and other species in the rattus group. The first scientific description comes from Edward Blyth in 1827.
Hazard and protection
The species is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as not endangered ("least concern") due to the large distribution area and the high population numbers as well as the good adaptability to habitat changes. There are no known threats to the stocks.
literature
- KP Aplin, PR Brown, J. Jacob, CJ Krebs, GR Singleton: Field methods for rodent studies in Asia and the Indo-Pacific (= ACIAR Monograph. No. 100). Australian Center for International Agricultural Research, Canberra 2003, ISBN 1-86320-393-1 (book), ISBN 1-86320-394-X (electronic), (description).
- Indochinese Forest Council. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie (Eds.): A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , p. 272.
- 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 , (classification, distribution).
Web links
- Rattus andamanensis inthe IUCN 2012 Red List of Threatened Species . 2. Listed by: Andrew T. Smith , CHL Johnston, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b Indochinese Forest Council. In: Andrew T. Smith, Yan Xie (Eds.): A Guide to the Mammals of China. 2008, p. 272.
- ↑ a b Rattus andamanensis ( Memento of the original dated November 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. Volume 2. 3rd edition. 2005.
- ↑ Rattus andamanensis in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.2. Posted by: K. Aplin, A. Frost, S. Chakraborty, S. Molur, PO Nameer, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
