Blacktail Luzon Tree Rat
| Blacktail Luzon Tree Rat | ||||||||||||
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Brown- tailed Luzon tree rat ( Carpomys phaeurus ) above, black-tailed Luzon tree rat ( Carpomys melanurus ), below |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Carpomys melanurus | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1895 |
The black-tailed Luzon tree rat ( Carpomys melanurus ) is a rodent species from the genus of the Luzon tree rats ( Carpomys ) in the subfamily of the old world mice (Murinae). It is on the island of Luzon in the Philippines endemic .
features
The total length is 360 to 367 mm, the tail length 180 to 183 mm, the hind foot length 32 to 34 mm, the ear length 20 mm and the weight about 165 g. The head shape is broad and blunt. Dark fur around the eyes makes the face appear mask-like. The long tail is covered with short, almost black hair. The hind feet are quite short and wide. The soft fur is brown on the top and flanks and almost white on the belly. The females have two pairs of mammary glands on the groin.
Distribution area
1898 called Oldfield Thomas the Mount Data in northern Luzon as Terra typica . Today the species can only be found on the Pulag with certainty .
Habitat and way of life
Little is known about the way of life of the black-tailed Luzon tree rat. In 2008 a specimen was discovered in a moss-covered forest on Pulag at an altitude of 2350 m. The animal was about 5 meters above the ground on a large, horizontal branch covered with a thick layer of moss, orchids and ferns. The species is probably nocturnal and predominantly arboreal. The food consists of seeds.
status
The IUCN lists the species in the category "insufficient data" ( data deficient ). Four specimens, three adults and one juvenile, were collected in February 1895 by the British naturalist John Whitehead (1860–1899) and two more specimens (a male and a female) were collected from Mount Data later that year. This species was subsequently lost for 112 years before another specimen was rediscovered and photographed by Lawrence R. Heaney and Danilo S. Balete on Pulag in April 2008 . During search expeditions on Mount Data, the black-tailed Luzon tree rat could no longer be detected.
literature
- Oldfield Thomas: XXII. — Preliminary diagnoses of new mammals from Northern Luzon, collected by Mr. John Whitehead In: Annals and Magazine of Natural History Series 6 , Volume 16, Issue 92, 1895, pp. 160-164 (first scientific description)
- Thomas, O. 1898. On the mammals obtained by Mr John Whitehead during his recent expedition to the Philippines. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 14: 377-412.
- Heaney, LR, Balete, DS, Dollar, ML, Alcala, AC, Dans, ATL, Gonzales, PC, Ingle, NR, Lepiten, MV, Oliver, WLR, Ong, PS, Rickart, EA, Tabaranza Jr., BR and Utzurrum, RCB 1998. A synopsis of the mammalian fauna of the Philippine Islands. Fieldiana: Zoology (New Series) 88: 1-61.
- Lawrence R. Heaney, Danilo S. Balete, Eric A. Rickart: The Mammals of Luzon Island: Biogeography and Natural History of a Philippine Fauna . Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016, p. 126. ISBN 978-1421418377
Web links
- The Field Museum: Dwarf Cloud Rat Re-discovered After 112 Years
- Rediscovering an amazing rat
- Carpomys melanurus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.2. Posted by: Heaney, L., Balete, D., Rosell-Ambal, G., Tabaranza, B. & Ong, P., 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
Individual evidence
- ^ Thomas, O. 1898. On the mammals obtained by Mr John Whitehead during his recent expedition to the Philippines. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 14: 377-412.
- ↑ Lawrence R. Heaney, Danilo S. Balete, Eric A. Rickart: The Mammals of Luzon Island: Biogeography and Natural History of a Philippine Fauna . Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016, p. 126. ISBN 978-1421418377