Naked tail rats
| Naked tail rats | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Solomys | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1922 |
The naked tail rats ( Solomys ) are a genus of rodents from the group of old world mice (Murinae). The genus includes five species, one of which is extinct.
Hairless rats are relatively large, rat-like animals. The head body length is 19 to 33 centimeters, the tail length 20 to 36 centimeters and the weight - as far as known - 0.3 to over 1 kilogram. Their fur is brown or gray in color, the underside is lighter. The tail is hairless, the feet have powerful claws.
Nakedtail rats are endemic to the Solomon Islands and their habitat is forests. They can climb well and mostly hang out in the trees. They build leaf nests on forks of branches or in tree hollows. Their food consists, among other things, of nuts, which they gnaw with their strong teeth.
There are five types:
- Solomys ponceleti lives on Bougainville and is the largest species, weighing up to one kilogram.
- Solomys salamonis isnativeto the island of Florida , it is the smallest species.
- Solomys salebrosus occurs on Bougainville and the Choiseul Islands .
- Solomys sapientis lives on Santa Isabel and used to be found on Malaita .
- Solomys spriggsarum became extinct 6,600 to 2,000 years ago. It lived on Buka .
All still living species are threatened. The reasons for this lie in the destruction of their habitat and hunting for their meat. The IUCN lists P. ponceleti as "threatened with extinction" ( critically endangered ), S. salebrosus and S. sapientis as "high risk" ( endangered ) and S. salamonis "there is insufficient data".
The genus is systematically classified within the Old World mice in the Uromys group .
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 .