252.

Alpine Woolly Rat

Mallomys gunung

French: Mallomys alpin / German: Berg-Riesenbaumratte / Spanish: Rata lanuda alpina

Other common names: Alpine Mallomys

Taxonomy. Mallomys gunung Flannery, Aplin & Groves, 1989,

2 km east of Mount Wilhelmina, 3800 m, Province of Papua, West Papua (= Irian Jaya), New Guinea.

Mallomys forms a clade with Abeomelomys and Mammelomys . Monotypic.

Distribution. Known from two localities in the Central Range of W New Guinea, between Mt Jaya and Mt Trikora. An extensive fossil record from the Holocene.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 415-470 mm, tail 355-368 mm, ear 35-36-5 mm, hindfoot 68-9-75 mm; weight 2 kg. The Alpine Woolly Rat is an extremely large species of giant rat in genus Mallomys . Pelage is long, dense, and somewhat woolly, with long dark guard hairs with white tips throughout (except on shoulders and head, which are just black); dorsal pelage is gray, and ventral pelage is yellowish white. Feet are blackish with long black and white hairs and long slender claws, unlike the other species in genus. Ears are somewhatless blackish and more pointed than those of congeners; vibrissae are long and black. Tail is short (c.78-86% of head-body length), and black basally and white ventrally. Penis is very unusual, having tip crowned byfive papillae, the two ventral papillae greenish in color. Incisor enamel is white, rather than orange as inall other Mallomys . There are three pairs of mammae, one pectoral and two inguinal pairs.

Habitat. Alpine grasslands and barren areas above tree line, at elevations of 3500-4050 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Little is known. The Alpine Woolly Rat probably reproduces slowly.

Activity patterns. Alpine Woolly Rats are terrestrial, nesting in dens among rocks; and probably nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Alpine Woolly Rat has a relatively small distribution and is located in Lorentz National Park. Major threats include increased chance of fires from global climate change, hunting, and predation by wild dogs.

Bibliography. Flannery (1995b), Flannery et al. (1989), Leary & Wright (2016¢c), Musser & Carleton (2005), Steppan & Schenk (2017).