801.

Mindanao Forest Rat

Bullimus bagobus

French: Bullimus de Mindanao / German: Mindanao-Waldratte / Spanish: Rata de bosque de Mindanao

Other common names: Bagobo Forest Rat, Bagobo Rat, Large Mindanao Forest Rat; Mindanao Bullimus

Taxonomy. Bullimus bagobus Mearns, 1905,

“Todaya, a Bagobo village at 4,000 feet [= 1219 m] altitude on Mount Apo, southern Mindanao [Island], Philippine Islands.”

Bullimus bagobus is the type species of the genus, which was rediagnosed by G. G. Musser and L. R. Heaney in 1992 who recognized two species: B. bagobus and B. luzonicus . A new review of Bullimus by E. A. Rickart and colleagues in 2002 provided new diagnostic and morphometric characteristics of the two species. In their molecular study of the entire Luzon endemics,S. A. Jansa and colleagues in 2006 provided a molecular tree in which B. luzonicus was basal, but B. bagobus was closer to B. gamay than to B. luzonicus . A recent genetic study found little genetic variation between populations ofthis species. In their recent murid molecular phylogeny, S. J. Steppan and J. J. Schenk in 2017 confirmed that Bullimus was monophyletic, and its sister taxa were Sundamys and Bunomys . Monotypic.

Distribution. Samar, Maripipi, Leyte, Bohol, Dinagat, Siargao, Bucas Grande, and Mindanao Is, S Philippines.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 228-272 mm, tail 175-196 mm, ear 26-32 mm, hindfoot 52-61 mm; weight 340-600 g. The Mindanao Forest Ratis large, with clove-brown dorsum and hairs paler at bases, tipped with tawny olive; venter is yellowish white; and sides are brown. Tail is hairless and shorter (71-84%) than head-body length; it is brown above and paler below; and it may end with white part but this latter characteristic seems variable. Feet are sepia brown. Chromosomal complement was 2n = 42, FN = 58 for specimens from Leyte Island.

Habitat. Primary lowland and montane, mossy forests and degraded forests, most abundant at elevations of 200-1800 m.

Food and Feeding. Stomachs of three Mindanao Forest Rats contained vegetable matter and arthropod remains.

Breeding. Two placental scars were found on a female Mindanao Forest Rat.

Activity patterns. The Mindanao Forest Rat is probably terrestrial and nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Mindanao Forest Rat is hunted for bushmeat and occurs only in forests, but no major conservation threats have been noted.

Bibliography. Heaney, Tabaranza, Rickart et al. (2006), Jansa et al. (2006), Kyriazis et al. (2017), Musser & Heaney (1992), Rickart, Heaney, Heideman & Utzurrum (1993), Rickart, Heaney & Tabaranza (2002), Steppan & Schenk (2017).