640.

Brahman White-bellied Rat

Niviventer brahma

French: Rat brahmane / German: Brahma-Weil 3bauchratte / Spanish: Rata de vientre blanco de Brahman

Other common names: Brahman Niviventer, Mishmi White-bellied Rat, Thomas's Chestnut Rat

Taxonomy. Epimys brahma Thomas, 1914

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Anzong Valley in Mishmi Hills, 6000 ft (= 1830 m), north-eastern Arunachal Pradesh, north-eastern India.

Morphologically, N. brahma is closest to N. eha, although phylogenetic data have not resolved its position within Niviventer and further research is needed. Monotypic.

Distribution. NE India (Arunachal Pradesh), N Myanmar (Kachin State), and SW China (Yunnan).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 135-155 mm,tail 201-237 mm, ear 20-25 mm, hindfoot 28-34 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The BrahmanWhite-bellied Rat is small but significantly larger than the morphologically similar Smoke-bellied White-bellied Rat (NN. eha). Pelage is long, soft, and thick, without any spines. Dorsum is bright orangish brown to yellowish brown, with black guard hairs mixed throughout. Sides are bright fulvous brown and sharply demarcated from venter, which is grayish white caused by individual hairs with gray bases. Most often, darker patch or streak of brown occurs on chest. There is a dark patch from nose to just behind ears, which is dark brown; vibrissae are long. Tail is 150% of head-body length and not distinctly bicolored, being fairly uniformly brown above and slightly paler below, with hairs that cover length oftail, ending in small brush of hair. Dark brown patches occur on top of hindfeet. Hindfeet and forefeet have five digits, with reduced fifth toe having smaller claw; toes are white. Skull is larger than that of the Smoke-bellied White-bellied Rat and has longer palatal bridge relative to length of tooth row. Females have three pairs of mammae: one post-axillary, one abdominal. and one inguinal.

Habitat. Cool wet montane forests at elevations of 2000-2800 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Brahman White-bellied Rat is nocturnal, fossorial, terrestrial, and perhaps semi-arboreal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Brahman White-bellied Rat has a wide distribution and presumably large overall population that probably is not decreasing at a worrying rate. It is listed as a pestin Schedule V of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Bibliography. Aplin & Molur (2016), Balakirev & Rozhnov (2010), Francis (2008), He Kai & Jiang Xuelong (2015), Jing Meidong et al. (2007), Lu Liang et al. (2015), Molur et al. (2005), Musser (1970a, 1981a), Musser & Carleton (2005), Smith & Yan Xie (2008).