Short-footed Luzon tree rat
| Short-footed Luzon tree rat | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Carpomys |
| Species: | C. melanurus
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| Binomial name | |
| Carpomys melanurus Thomas, 1895
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The short-footed Luzon tree rat or greater dwarf cloud rat (Carpomys melanurus) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.[2] It is found only in the Philippines, specifically in northern Luzon. Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forests.[1] The type specimen was found on Mount Data, in an expedition by Whitehead. It was described by Oldfield Thomas in 1895.[3]
Description
[edit]Fur soft, thick, and woolly. General colour deep fulvous, coarsely lined with black. Under surface and inner sides of limbs dull yellowish white, the bases of the hairs slate. Ears of medium size, well haired, dark brown, nearly black. Limbs to wrists and ankles furred and coloured like body. Metapodials brown mesially, laterally and on the digits white. Tail longer than head and body, its basal inch or two thickly furry like the body, and of the same colour; the rest closely covered with shining black hairs, some 5 to 7 millimeters in length, entirely hiding the scales; not specially tufted at tip.[3]
Skull with the nasals broad in front, abruptly narrowing backward. Interorbital region narrow, broader in front than behind, and the traces of ridges mounting on to the top, and approaching each other to within 2 millimeters in the middle line. Palatal foramina parallel-sided, attaining at once their greatest width anteriorly. Palate ending opposite the front edge of the second molar (M2).[3]
Teeth broad and heavy. Incisors broad, slightly flattened in front in old specimens; dark yellow above, rather more whitish below. Molars very broad and large, their combined length exceeding that of the palatal foramina.[3]
Rediscovery
[edit]This species was long thought to be extinct. In 2008, Filipino researchers including Dr. Danilo Balete found a specimen in the canopy of Mount Pulag National Park, the first scientifically observed individual of the species since 1896.[4] The captured individual was "about 185 grams and has dense soft reddish-brown fur, a black mask around large dark eyes, small rounded ears, a broad and blunt snout and a long tail covered with dark hair".[4]
References
[edit]
- ^ a b Heaney, L.; Balete, D.; Rosell-Ambal, G.; Tabaranza, B.; Ong, P. (2008). "Carpomys melanurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. IUCN: e.T3917A10172176. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T3917A10172176.en.
- ^ Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 894–1531. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ a b c d Thomas, O. (1898). "On the Mammals obtained by Mr. John Whitehead during his recent Expedition to the Philippines". The Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. 14 (6): 377–412. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1898.tb00062.x. ISSN 1469-7998. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Mammal believed extinct found in mossy forest". CBC News. 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under Public domain. Text taken from On the Mammals obtained by Mr. John Whitehead during his recent Expedition to the Philippines. By Oldfield Thomas, with Field-notes by the Collector., 407, Oldfield Thomas.
