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Edented Sulawesi Rat

Paucidentomys vermidax

French: Rat vermivore / German: Zahnarme Regenwurmratte / Spanish: Rata desdentada de Célebes Other common names: Few-toothed WWorm-eating Rat

Taxonomy. Paucidentomys vermidax Esselstyn, Achmadi & Rowe, 2012,

“Mount Latimojong (3-40755° S, 120-00780° E, 2050 m), Bantanase, Karangan, Desa Latimojong, Buntu Batu, Enrekang, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia.”

Paucidentomys is sister to Echiothrix . This clade is sister to the Tateomys + Melasmothrix clade. Monotypic.

Distribution. SC Sulawesi (Mt Latimojong and Mt Gandangdewata).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 159-168 mm,tail 198-200 mm, ear 21-22 mm, hindfoot 37-38 mm; weight 99-108 g. The Edented Sulawesi Ratis a small and highly distinctive, molarless endemic Sulawesi shrew rat. Pelage is short and long. Individual dorsal hairs are gray at bases, being brown distally, and there are soft black guard hairs extending past other hairs. Venter has same structure but without guard hairs. Dorsum is overall grayish brown and is not sharply demarcated from ventral pelage. Venter is lighter grayish brown than dorsum, especially around chest and groin. Hindfeet are long and dark brown on top with brown,silver, and black hairs, getting less dense near paler toes. Claws are sharp, long, and opaque, and palmar surface of feet are pale brown. Ears are long and brownish; vibrissae are long, with black bases and white tips. Tail is c.120% of head-body length, bicolored, dark gray above and dirty white below, weakly demarcated. Skull is very elongated and smooth, similar to species of Rhynchomys and Crunomys . The most distinctive trait of the Edented Sulawesi Rat is lack of molars,restricting number ofteeth to just four incisors—the least number of teeth of any rodent. Habitat. Transitional lowland and montane forests and mature montane forests at elevation of 1571-2050 m.

Food and Feeding. The Edented Sulawesi Rat is almost certainly vermivorous (indicated by lack of molars): one stomach contained only small-sized earthworms. Incisors probably help tear up earthworms before they are swallowed.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Habitat loss may be a majorrisk to the Edented Sulawesi Rat. It occurs in Pegunungan Latimojong Hutan Lindung Protected Forest. There are few details regarding it natural history, so more research is needed.

Bibliography. Engelbrektsson (2016¢), Esselstyn, Achmadi, Handika & Rowe (2015), Esselstyn, Achmadi & Rowe (2012), Rowe etal. (2014, 2016a, 2016b).