Chestnut white-bellied rat
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Chestnut white-bellied rat ( Niviventer fulvescens ) |
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| Niviventer fulvescens | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1847) |
The chestnut white-bellied rat or chestnut mouse ( Niviventer fulvescens ) is a rodent from the genus of the white-bellied rats ( Niviventer ) within the old world mice (Murinae). It occurs in large parts of South and Southeast Asia. It is possible that the chestnut white-bellied rat is not a single species, but a complex of species.
features
The chestnut white-bellied rat reaches a head-trunk length of 13.1 to 17.2 centimeters with a tail of 16.0 to 22.1 centimeters in length and a weight of 60 to 135 grams. The rear foot length is about 30 to 34 millimeters, the ear length 17 to 23 millimeters. The skull has a total length of 32 to 40 millimeters.
The fur on the back is very variable, even within individual populations , it ranges in color from dull ocher-brown to light reddish-orange. The abdomen is sharply demarcated from the sides of the body and is yellowish-white in color. The tail is slightly longer than the length of the head and torso, it is usually two-colored with a dark brown upper side and white underside, occasionally the animals have a single-colored brown tail.
distribution
The chestnut white-bellied rat is found in large parts of South and Southeast Asia . The distribution area extends from Nepal and Pakistan via northern India, probably Bangladesh , southern China , Myanmar , Laos , Vietnam , Thailand and Malaysia to several islands in Indonesia . In China the species is found in all southern parts and lives in Xizang , Yunnan , Guizhou , Hunan , Guangxi , Guangdong , Jiangxi , Fujian , Zhejiang , Anhui , Henan , Shaanxi , Gansu and Sichuan as well as on Hainan and in Hong Kong and Macau . In India it occurs in the states of Arunachal Pradesh , Assam , Himachal Pradesh , Manipur , Meghalaya , Sikkim , Uttarakhand and West Bengal . In Indonesia, the species can be found on Sumatra , Java and Bali , but is absent on Borneo and other Sunda islands . The altitude distribution ranges from sea level to altitudes of around 2200 meters.
Way of life
The chestnut-white-bellied rat is very adaptable and lives in very many different habitats within its very large area of distribution. It occurs preferentially in forests, but also lives in bushes, bamboo stands and agricultural areas and gardens in the surrounding area of forest areas. In parts of China they live in subtropical and evergreen deciduous forests. In South Asia, the habitat spectrum ranges from tropical primary forest areas to coniferous and pine forests to bushes, grasslands and the riverside regions. In Laos, too, they occur in both primary and secondary forest areas and comparable habitats.
The animals usually live on the ground, but can also climb into the bushes and tendrils. They feed omnivorously on vegetable and animal food, which in its composition mainly consists of seeds, berries, insects and green parts of plants. Over a large part of the area the animals are sympatric with the Chinese white-bellied rat ( Niviventer confucianus ).
Systematics
The chestnut 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 John Edward Gray , who described the species in 1911 under the name Mus fulvescens using individuals from Nepal. In some cases, animals from the Sunda islands were assigned to the long-tailed white-bellied rat ( Niviventer rapit ) and only animals north of the isthmus of Kra were assigned to the chestnut-white-bellied rat and in some cases other species of the Sunda islands , which are now regarded as independent, were assigned to the chestnut-white-bellied rat. It is possible that the chestnut white-bellied rat is not a single species, but a species complex of several closely related species in which other species would also have to be included.
Status, threat and protection
The chestnut-white-bellied rat is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as not endangered (least concern). 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
- ↑ a b c d e Darrin Lunde, Andrew T. Smith: Indomalayan 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. 268.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Niviventer fulvescens in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016.2. Posted by: G. Musser, D. Lunde, K. Aplin, S. Molur, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ↑ a b Niviventer fulvescens . 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 .
literature
- Darrin Lunde, Andrew T. Smith: Indomalayan 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. 268.
Web links
- Niviventer fulvescens inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.2. Posted by: G. Musser, D. Lunde, K. Aplin, S. Molur, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2016.