199.

Lubang Forest Mouse

Apomys lubangensis

French: Apomys de Lubang / German: Lubang-Philippinenwaldmaus / Spanish: Raton de bosque de Lubang

Other common names: Lubang Apomys

Taxonomy. Apomys lubangensis Heaney el al., 2014,

“Philippine Islands: Lubang Island, Mindoro Occidental Province: L.ooc Municipality: Barangay Burol: Sitio Bubuyog, 13°48’N, 120°7-8’E.”

Apomys lubangensis, newly collected in 2001, is a member of subgenus Megapomys, and may be most closely related to A. sacobianus, A. banahao, and A. brownorum . On Lubang Island, A. lubangensis was sympatric with a small, as yet unidentified arboreal species of Apomys at 300-425 m.

Distribution. Endemic to Lubang I, Philippines, recorded at elevations of 130-425 m on Mt Ambulong.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 143-160 mm, tail 128-154 mm, ear 22-27 mm, hindfoot 38-42 mm; weight 102-128 g. Males average slightly larger than females in all external measurements; no chromatic sexual dimorphism. Species of Apomys are soft-furred, small to medium-sized murines with relatively unspecialized body form; distinguished from other Philippine murines by a distinctive suite of features, including long, narrow hindfeet, thinly furred tail, unreduced eyes, relatively large and thinly furred ears, vibrissae on snout very elongate and, folded back, reach to shoulder or beyond, reduction to two mammae on each side, both inguinal, and a simplified molar pattern with cusps united into transverse laminae. Members of subgenus Megapomys are larger, shorter-tailed active primarily on ground; in most forest habitats across Luzon Island, they are the most abundant terrestrial mammal in any local community. The Lubang Forest Mouse, one of largest Megapomys, has fur on upperparts, flanks, and outer surfaces of limbs dense and very soft, brownish gray with reddish wash, and a “variegated” appearance probably caused by slightly shaggy texture; fur on underparts and inside of limbs grayish white; boundary between colors of upperside and underside abrupt; earslarge,

thinly furred. Dark fur of limbs does not extend onto upper surfaces of foreand hindfeet, which are unpigmented and clothed in white hairs; hindfeet relatively elongate, undersurface with dark gray pigmentation except on plantar pads. Tail is relatively long (c.88-95% of head-body length) compared with other Megapomys, sharply bicolored, nearly black above and white below for entire length, tail scales large and prominent, tail hairs relatively short, no terminal brush. Cranium is robust, with broad interorbital region and relatively short, deep, broad rostrum.

Habitat. Natural habitat is evergreen tropical rainforest. Lubang Forest Mice have been recorded in “secondary lowland forest with few mature trees on steep terrain” at 130 m, in “mixed second-growth lowland forest” at ¢.180 m, and in “well-developed, regenerating forest” at 300 m and 450 m. These records indicate a degree of tolerance of habitat disturbance, but this is unlikely to extend to occupation offully converted land.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. The long-term prospects of this species rest on the extent of future forestry activity on Lubang Island.

Bibliography. Balete, Heaney & Rickart (2013), Heaney, Balete, Rickart et al. (2011), Heaney, Balete, Veluz et al. (2014), Justiniano et al. (2015).