254.

Rothschild’s Woolly Rat

Mallomys rothschildi

French: Mallomys de Rothschild / German: Rothschild-Riesenbaumratte / Spanish: Rata lanuda de Rothschild

Other common names: Rothschild’'s Mallomys

Taxonomy. Mallomys rothschildi Thomas, 1898,

“Between Mounts Musgrave and Scratchley, British New Guinea [= Central Province, Papua New Guinea].”

Mallomys forms a clade with Abeomelomys and Mammelomys . Two distinctive subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

M.r.rothschildiThomas,1898—ECentralCordilleraofNewGuinea.

M. r. weylandi Rothschild & Dollman, 1932

— W Central Cordillera of New Guinea.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 344-400 mm, tail 343-417 mm, ear 27-3-30 mm, hindfoot 63—67-2 mm; weight 925 g—1-5 kg. Rothschild’s Woolly Rat is a large species of giant rat, although the smallest in its genus. Pelage is long, dense, and somewhat woolly, with long darkguard hairs throughout. Dorsal pelage is blackish with black-tipped guard hairs or grayish with pale-tipped guard hairs, often with a white band encircling body; ventral pelage either is dirty gray with black guard hairs or is white with gray patches or black guard hairs inguinally. Feet are black with long hooked claws. Ears are relatively large and dark; vibrissae long and dark. Tail is longer than those of other species in genus (¢.100% or more of head-body length), smoother, and black for basal third and white for distal-two thirds. Skull is distinguished from those of other Mallomys by its broad, short, and somewhat diamond-shaped (rather than hemidiscoidal) interparietal, and its relatively narrower bizygomatic width. Incisors have orange enamel, rather than white as in the Alpine Woolly Rat ( M. gunung). Subspecies rothschildi is blackish dorsally with black guard hairs and a dirty gray ventrally with many black guard hairs; subspecies weylandi has two forms, a dark form having blackish dorsal pelage with black guard hairs and white ventral pelage, almost always with patch of gray or black guard hairs inguinally and a white band around central part of body, and a light form having grayish dorsal pelage with pale-tipped guard hairs and same ventral pelage as dark morph. There are three pairs of mammae, one pectoral and two inguinal. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48, FN = 52. The nematode Hasegawanema mallomyos has been recorded from this species.

Habitat. Tropical moist forests, rocky areas in the Weyland Range, and caves in the Telefomin area. Rothschild’s Woolly Rats are found at elevations of 1200-3700 m.

Food and Feeding. Rothschild’s Woolly Ratis seemingly herbivorous, being known to feed on epiphytes, shoots of Pandanus (Pandanaceae), ferns, wild gingers, and climbing bamboo ( Nastus productus), and leaves of Rungia klossi (Acanthaceae) and Oenathe javanica ( Apiaceae).

Breeding. A female in captivity gave birth to a single young. In Telefomin, an immature captured in July weighed 158 g; it made twittering and squeaking noises when distressed, and was probably still suckling.

Activity patterns. Rothschild’s Woolly Rat is nocturnal. It is scansorial or arboreal, nesting during the day in epiphytes or tree hollows with a leaf nest. It has also been found nesting in caves. The species has been reported to urinate and defecate on top of the epiphyte in which it is nesting, and to block the entrance with leaves and moss.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Rothschild’s Woolly Rats will travel from tree to tree rather than on the ground, and have been recorded as traveling 85 m in this manner. They may not have a fixedhome range. When caught, they are initially aggressive and lash out and bite, but become tame after a short time. When distressed, they emit a loud snarl.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Rothschild’s Woolly Rat has a wide distribution and is found in many protected areas, including Baiyer River Sanctuary in Papua New Guinea and Lorentz National Park in Indonesia. It faces no major threats, but is hunted by locals throughoutits range and is considered a woman's food by local men.

Bibliography. Aplin (20160), Berry et al. (1987), Durette-Desset & Digiani (2015), Donnellan (1989), Flannery (1995b), Flannery et al. (1989), Hasegawa (1994), Helgen & Opiang (2011), Musser & Carleton (2005), Steppan & Schenk (2017).