Ryukyu barbed rats
| Ryukyu barbed rats | ||||||||||||
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Tokudaia sp. |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Tokudaia | ||||||||||||
| Kuroda , 1943 |
The Ryukyu spiny rats ( Tokudaia ) are a genus of rodents from the group of old world mice (Murinae). The genus includes three types.
These rodents reach a head body length of 12 to 18 centimeters, plus a 10 to 13 centimeter long tail. Their dense fur is orange-black on the back, the underside is light gray, and the tail is also two-colored. The name-giving feature is the bristly, black hair on the back.
Ryukyu echimyidae live in the south of Japan located Ryukyu Islands . Their habitat are forests with thick undergrowth. Otherwise, little is known about their way of life.
There are three types:
- Tokudaia muenninki occurs only in the north of the island of Okinawa .
- Tokudaia osimensis is endemic to Anami .
- Tokudaia tokunoshimensis was only described in 2006 and lives on Tokunoshima .
Due to their small distribution area and the destruction of their habitats the lists IUCN T. muenninki as "to extinction" ( critically endangered ) and the two kinds of different ( "high risk" endangered ).
Systematically, the Ryukyu barbed rats are close relatives of the wood mice ( Apodemus ).
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 .
- Hideki Endo, Kimiyuki Tsuchiya: A new species of Ryukyu spiny rat, Tokudaia (Muridae: Rodentia), from Tokunoshima Island, Kagonshima Prefecture, Japan. In: Mammal Study. Vol. 31, No. 1, 2006, ISSN 0914-1855 , pp. 47-57, doi : 10.3106 / 1348-6160 (2006) 31 [47: ANSORS] 2.0.CO; 2 .
