271.

White-bellied Mosaic-tailed Rat

Melomys leucogaster

French: Mélomys a ventre blanc / German: WeilRbauch-Mosaikschwanzratte / Spanish: Rata de cola moteada de vientre blanco

Other common names: \ White-bellied Melomys

Taxonomy. Pogonomys leucogaster Jentink, 1908,

Alkmaar, 300 m, Lorentz River, southern Province of Papua, Indonesia.

Although M. leucogaster was originally described in genus Pogonomys, its mosaic tail scales, each subtending one small hair, clearly ally it with Melomys . Monotypic.

Distribution. S New Guinea from the Lorentz River E to the Mori River; also Bavo I, Yule I, and probably other offshore Is. Four specimens in the Leiden Museum are said to have been collected in Jayapura, on N coast of New Guinea, far from any other known locality for this species; confirmation of locality required.

Descriptive notes. The largest of the New Guinean Melomys species. Head-body up to ¢.210 mm, tail about same length or shorter, scaled to tip, one hair to each scale, colored dark dorsally, lighter below. Fur is soft but not woolly, dark brown to reddish, but pure white in a broad band below. Hindfeet are broad.

Habitat. [.owland forests from sea level to 1400 m.

Food and Feeding. The White-bellied Mosaic-tailed Rat is assumed to be omnivorous, but may be carnivorous in some circumstances, as several were caught apparently foraging at low tide on a reef off Bavo Island (west of Port Moresby).

Breeding. Limited reproductive data indicate a litter size of two.

Activity patterns. Although morphology indicates a scansorial ability, the White-bellied Mosaic-tailed Rat is readily trapped on the ground and, in some cases, such as Bavo Island, where there is minimal vegetation of any sort.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Despite being a common species,little is known about the ecology of the White-bellied Mosaictailed Rat.

Bibliography. Flannery (1995a, 1995b), Menzies (1996), Musser & Carleton (2005), Tate (1951).