New Guinea water rats
| New Guinea water rats | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Leptomys | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1897 |
The New Guinea water rats ( Leptomys ) are a genus of rodents from the group of old world mice (Murinae). The genus includes five species.
body
New Guinea water rats reach a head body length of 12 to 18 centimeters, the tail measures 13 to 16 centimeters and the weight is 60 to 120 grams. Their fur is reddish-brown on the back, and their shoulders and hips are light red. The cheeks, the insides of the limbs, and the abdomen are whitish. The tail is provided with fine scales. In contrast to closely related species, they have three molars per half of the jaw, but the rearmost molar is much smaller.
habitat
These rodents inhabit forests and scrubland up to 1,800 meters above sea level. They feed on insects and other small animals.
species
There are five types:
- Leptomys elegans lives in eastern New Guinea.
- Leptomys ernstmayri is widespread in southeastern New Guinea.
- Leptomys signatus lives in the Fly River region in southern New Guinea.
- Leptomys arfakensis and
- Leptomys paulus was not described until 2008.
The IUCN , which only lists the first three species, does not list any of them as endangered.
The genus is systematically classified within the old world mice in the Xeromys 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 .
- Guy G. Musser , Kristofer M. Helgen , Darrin P. Lunde: Systematic review of New Guinea Leptomys (Muridae, Murinae) with descriptions of two new species. In: American Museum Novitates. No. 3624, 2008, ISSN 0003-0082 , pp. 1-60, online .
