The small tooth rat ( Macruromys elegans ) is a little researched rodent from the genus of the New Guinea small tooth rats . Only four specimens (three females, one male) are known to have been caught by Georg Stein on Mount Kunupi in the Weyland Range in western New Guinea in October 1931 . During extensive expeditions in the 1930s, this species could not be detected in any other region. The type specimens have a head-trunk length of 153 to 158 mm, a tail length of 206 to 220 mm, a hind foot length of 36 to 37 mm and an ear length of 15 to 21 mm. The females have four belly teats. The species is smaller and more delicate and the fur is softer than that of the closely related Eastern small tooth rat ( Macruromys major ). The fur is a solid gray and the white tip of the tail, which characterizes the eastern small tooth rat, is missing. The habitat are montane rainforests at altitudes between 1,400 and 1,800 m. Nothing is known about the way of life. There is also no information about the population status and the degree of risk. The IUCN classifies the species in the category of "insufficient data" ( data deficient ).
