Rattus bontanus Thomas 1921

Rattus bontanus Thomas 1921, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, 7: 246.

Type Locality: Indonesia, SW Sulawesi, Mt Bonthain ( Gunung Lampobatang), 2000 ft (610 m).

Vernacular Names: Southwestern Xanthurus Rat.

Synonyms: Rattus foramineus Sody 1941 .

Distribution: SW Sulawesi: 600-2500 m on the slopes of Gunung Lampobatang and adjacent coastal lowlands.

Conservation: IUCN – Vulnerable as R. bontanus, Lower Risk (nt) as R. foramineus .

Discussion: Rattus xanthurus species group. Sody (1941) questionably included this species in Taeromys, Laurie and Hill (1954) and Musser (1984) treated it as a subspecies of R. xanthurus, but Musser and Holden (1991) contended that it is a distinct species most closely related to R. foramineus, which occurs in coastal lowlands of the southern end of the SW peninsula of Sulawesi and is represented only by four modern specimens (Sody, 1941) and subfossil fragments from a few localities (Musser, 1984; Musser and Holden, 1991). Recent morphometric analyses reveal that foramineus is a lowland population of R. bontanus, which has external and morphological traits that distinguish it from any other species in the R. xanthurus group of Sulawesi (Musser, ms). Sody described pelurus from Pulau Peleng as a subspecies of R. foramineus, but the Peleng Isl rat is a separate species (Musser and Holden, 1991; see that account).