Giant bark rats
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| Waterhouse , 1839 |
The giant bark rats ( Phloeomys ) are a genus of rodents from the family of long-tailed mice (Muridae). You live in the Philippines and are the largest living representatives of this family. A distinction is made between two types, Phloeomys cumingi and Phloeomys pallidus .
features
Giant bark rats reach a head body length of 28 to 48 centimeters, plus a tail 20 to 35 centimeters long. The weight is around 1.5 to 2 kilograms. The fur is long and patterned. The top is black or brown in color and sometimes mottled yellow or reddish. The underside and sometimes the flanks are whitish-gray; the head can also be partly lighter in color. The tail is black haired throughout, but not bushy. The ears are small and round and the muzzle blunt. The enlarged paws with long toes and claws represent an adaptation to a tree-dwelling way of life. The species P. pallidus is somewhat lighter in color and has a softer fur than P. cumingi ; however, it is unclear whether this is actually a separate species or just a local or seasonal variant.
distribution and habitat
Giant bark rats are endemic to the Philippines , they inhabit the island of Luzon and smaller offshore islands. Their habitat are forests, and they occur both near the sea and in the mountains.
Way of life
Giant bark rats are nocturnal . During the day they sleep in hollow tree trunks or in burrows that they have taken over from other animals. At night they go in search of food; they are skilled climbers and mostly hang out in the trees. They reportedly live in pairs or in small family groups.
Little is known about nutrition in the wild, where they are likely to consume mainly plant material. Animals in captivity have also consumed insects and other animals, the extent to which they also eat this food in the wild is not known.
Reproduction
Little is known about reproduction either. Unlike most other long-tailed mice, females only have one pair of teats. Accordingly, single births predominate; most births presumably occur at the end of the rainy season, around December.
Danger
Giant bark rats are relatively adaptable animals that can often be found near human habitation. They are hunted for their meat in many regions and are likely to suffer from the destruction of their habitat to a certain extent. The IUCN lists P. cumingi as endangered ( vulnerable ) and P. pallidus as not threatened.
Systematics
According to Wilson & Reeder (2005), the giant bark rats form a separate genus group (" Phloeomys Division") within the old world mice (Murinae ) together with three other Filipino mouse genera - the Philippines hairtail rats ( Batomys ), Luzon tree rats ( Carpomys ) and bark climbers ( Crateromys ) ). This group is the sister group of all other Old World mice and possibly represents the relic of a once more widespread group of rodents.
Genetic studies by Lecompte et al. (2008) confirmed this position. Thus, the previously stated hypothesis of a taxon "Borken rats", the next example, nor the clover toothed giant rat ( Lenomys ) that pogonomys ( Pogonomys ) that mallomys ( Mallomys ) or the brush-tailed tree mice ( Chiropodomys ) included, finally become obsolete.
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 .
- Emilie Lecompte, Ken Aplin, Christiane Denys, François Catzeflis, Marion Chades, Pascale Chevret: Phylogeny and biogeography of African Murinae based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, with a new tribal classification of the subfamily. In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. Vol. 8, 199, 2008, pp. 1-21, doi : 10.1186 / 1471-2148-8-199 .
