Monkey foot rats
| Monkey foot rats | ||||||||||||
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| Pithecheir | ||||||||||||
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The monkey foot rats ( Pithecheir ) are a rodent genus from the group of old world mice (Murinae). The genus includes two types.
General
Monkey foot rats reach a head body length of 12 to 18 centimeters, in addition there is a 16 to 22 centimeter long tail. Their weight is around 60 to 150 grams. Their long, soft fur is reddish-brown in color on the back, and their belly is white. The hind legs are adapted to the tree-dwelling way of life, the first toe is developed like a thumb and can be opposed , the thumb, however, is very small. The long tail can be used as a grasping tail.
These rodents live in Southeast Asia , they inhabit the Malay Peninsula and Java . Their habitat are dense forests up to 1600 meters above sea level. They are nocturnal and during the day they retreat into round, self-made leaf nests that they build in forks of branches or tree hollows. They are skilled climbers and mostly live on trees. Their diet consists of green plant material.
Systematics
The Affenfußratten are loud Wilson & Reeder (2005) named the Pithecheir -Gattungsgruppe, a Southeast Asian Radiation of murinae, the next still Sulawesi soft rats ( Eropeplus ), the Klee toothed giant rat ( Lenomys ), the gray tree rats ( Lenothrix ) that Margareta -Rats ( Margaretamys ) as well as the species Borneo prey-tailed rat .
Two types are known:
- Java monkey foot rat ( Pithecheir melanurus ) occurs only in the west of the island of Java.
- Pithecheir parvus lives on the Malay Peninsula.
P. melanurus is listed as endangered ( vulnerable ) by the IUCN , there are no precise data for P. parvus .
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
- Pithecheir on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved October 18, 2009.