New Guinea small tooth rats
| New Guinea small tooth rats | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Macruromys | ||||||||||||
| Stein , 1933 |
The New Guinea small tooth rats ( Macruromys ) are a genus of rodents from the group of old world mice (Murinae). The genus includes two types.
These rodents reach a head body length of 15 to 25 centimeters, to which a tail 20 to 34 centimeters long comes. Their fur is colored yellow-gray to gray-brown on the upper side, the underside is whitish to light gray. The long tail and the small and very simply built molars are characteristic .
The animals live in New Guinea , their habitat are mountainous forests up to 1800 meters above sea level. They live on the ground and presumably feed on soft parts of plants. Otherwise, little is known about their way of life.
There are two kinds:
- Macruromys elegans is the smaller of the two species and is only known from a single area in western New Guinea. Their degree of risk is unclear.
- Macruromys major is larger. It lives in central and eastern New Guinea and isnot endangeredaccording to the IUCN .
The genus is systematically part of the Pogonomys group , a radiation of Old World mice that is predominantly found in New Guinea.
literature
- 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 .
- 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 .
Web links
- Macruromys on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved October 9, 2009.