Indochinese white-bellied rat

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Indochinese white-bellied rat
Systematics
Family : Long-tailed mice (Muridae)
Subfamily : Old World Mice (Murinae)
Tribe : Rattini
Dacnomys group
Genre : White-bellied rats ( Niviventer )
Type : Indochinese white-bellied rat
Scientific name
Level tenaster
( Thomas , 1916)

The Indochinese white-bellied rat ( Niviventer tenaster ) is a rodent from the genus of white-bellied rats ( Niviventer ) within the old world mice (Murinae). It occurs in large parts of northern Southeast Asia.

features

The Indochinese white-bellied rat reaches a head-torso length of 12.0 to 18.9 centimeters with a tail of 17.4 to 23.4 centimeters in length and a weight of about 50 to 140 grams. The rear foot length is 32 to 35 millimeters, the ear length 23 to 26 millimeters. The skull has a total length of 37 to 42 millimeters.

The back fur is yellowish brown with dark brown bristles. The ventral side is sharply demarcated from the sides and colored white. The tail is not sharply demarcated in two colors, the upper side is brown and usually turns into a white tip towards the tail end, the lower side is lighter brown. The ears are noticeably large for representatives of the genus.

distribution

The Indochinese white-bellied rat is found in large parts of northern Southeast Asia . The distribution area extends from the south of the People's Republic of China through west-central and southern Myanmar to southern Cambodia , Laos , Vietnam and the north-west of Thailand in the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park in the Chiang Mai province . In China, the species is only documented through finds on the island of Hainan , but it may also occur in other regions on the southern borders of China. The altitude distribution ranges from 1300 to 2200 meters in Vietnam, in other areas around 3000 meters are assumed as maximum altitudes.

Way of life

The Indochinese white-bellied rat prefers to be found in mountain forests above 1,300 meters. The species is ground-living, but can also climb into vegetation. In large parts of its distribution area it lives sympatric with the chestnut white-bellied rat ( Niviventer fulvescens ) and the Lang-Bian white-bellied rat ( Niviventer langbianis ), north of the distribution area joins the Chinese white-bellied rat ( Niviventer confucianus ).

Systematics

The Indochinese white-bellied rat is classified as an independent species within the white-bellied rats ( Niviventer ), which consists of 17 species. The first scientific description comes from the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas , who described the species in 1916 using individuals from the Mulayit Taung in Kayin State in southern Myanmar from heights from 1525 to 1830. It was partially regarded as a subspecies of the Sunda white-bellied rat ( Niviventer cremoriventer ), but due to various characteristics it was raised to the status of species. Morphologically, it is very similar to the Chinese white-bellied rat ( Niviventer confucianus ) and based on molecular biological data it is partially placed in a family group with the Chinese white-bellied rat, the Coxing-white-bellied rat ( Niviventer coninga ) and the Taiwan-white-bellied rat ( Niviventer culturatus ).

The species belongs to a clade of similar and closely related species, which is known as the confuzianus group, or alternatively as the niviventer group. The status of numerous forms and local populations of this group is controversial, in recent years a number of species have been newly described or older ones have been removed from the synonymy. In addition to Niviventer bukit (previously mostly regarded as a synonym of confuzianus ), some authors also consider the Niviventer lotipes Allen, described by the island of Hainan , 1926 to be a valid, independent species; this was from Musser and Carleton 2005 (in Mammal Species of the World) as Synonym of tenaster . If one follows this view, the species does not occur in China.

Status, threat and protection

The Indochinese white-bellied rat is classified as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified with the large distribution area and the assumed frequent occurrence of the species. Potential threats are not known for the species, in parts of the distribution area it is affected by habitat decline.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d Darrin Lunde, Andrew T. Smith: Indochinese Mountain Niviventer. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie: A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , p. 269.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Niviventer tenaster in the Red List of Endangered Species of the IUCN 2016.2. Posted by: K. Aplin, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  3. ↑ a b c Level tenaster . GG Musser & MD Carleton: Superfamily Muroidea. In: 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 .
  4. ↑ Yuchun Li, Yi Wu, Masashi Harada, Liang-Kong Lin, Masaharu Motokawa (2005): Karyotypes of Three Rat Species (Mammalia: Rodentia: Muridae) from Hainan Island, China, and the Valid Specific Status of Niviventer lotipes. Zoological Science 25: 686-692. doi : 10.2108 / zsj.25.686
  5. ↑ Liang Lu, Deyan Ge, Douglas Chesters, Simon YW Ho, Ying Ma, Guichang Li, Zhixin Wen, Yongjie Wu, Jun Wang, Lin Xia, Jingli Liu, Tianyu Guo, Xiaolong Zhang, Chaodong Zhu, Qisen Yang, Qiyong Liu ( 2014): Molecular phylogeny and the underestimated species diversity of the endemic white-bellied rat (Rodentia: Muridae: Niviventer) in Southeast Asia and China. Zoologica Scripta 44: 475-494. doi : 10.1111 / zsc.12117

literature

  • Darrin Lunde, Andrew T. Smith: Indochinese Mountain Niviventer. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie: A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , p. 269.

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