Sri Lankan rat
| Sri Lankan rat | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Srilankamys | ||||||||||||
| Musser , 1981 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Srilankamys ohiensis | ||||||||||||
| ( Phillips , 1929) |
The Sri Lankan rat ( Srilankamys ohiensis ) is a rodent from the group of old world mice (Murinae). For a long time it was classified in the genus of the real rats ( Rattus ), but is now in its own genus, Srilankamys .
In one measured specimen, the head body length was 14.5 centimeters and the tail length 17.3 centimeters. The fur is dark gray on the top and whitish-gray on the underside, the dividing line between back and stomach color is sharp, the tail is also two-colored.
Sri Lankan rats live in Sri Lanka , their habitat are deep rainforests as well as mountain forests up to 2100 meters above sea level. They are nocturnal and sometimes live burrowing in the ground.
These rodents have a small habitat threatened by deforestation and are therefore listed by the IUCN as "endangered" ( vulnerable ). The Sri Lankan rat systematically forms the Dacnomys group with some other Southeast Asian Old World mice .
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
- Srilankamys ohiensis onthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved May 29, 2009.