666.

Sahyadris Forest Rat

Rattus satarae

French: Rat des Sahyadri / German: Sahyadris-Ratte / Spanish: Rata de bosque de Sahyadris

Other common names: Sahayadri Rat, Sahayadri Forest Rat

Taxonomy. Rattus rattus satarae Hinton, 1918,

“Ghatmatha, Satara District [Maharashtra State], edge of the Western Ghats

[India] ... altitude about 2000’ [= 610 m].”

Rattus satarae is sister to the R. norvegicus species group and is considered a distinctive lineage not closely related to other Rattus species. Monotypic.

Distribution. Western Ghats of SW India (Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 157- 190 mm, tail 153-235 mm, ear 21-26-5 mm, hindfoot 27-5-34-5 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Sahyadris Forest Rat is medium-sized and similar to the Roof Rat ( R. rattus). Pelage is long and soft, with flexible long dark brown spines mixed throughout. Dorsum is reddish brown or grayish red; venter is white oryellowish. Feet are usually white dorsally. Ears are brown; vibrissae are long. Tail is ¢.110% of head—body length (but apparently up to 170%) and unicolored brown. Skull has short bulla and wide and triangular post-glenoid foramen. There are five pairs of mammae: one axillary, one post-axillary, and three inguinal. Diploid numberis 2n = 42.

Habitat. Pristine montane moist deciduous and evergreen forests at elevations of 700-2150 m.

Food and Feeding. The Sahyadris Forest Rat is frugivorous and insectivorous.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Sahyadris Forest Rat is nocturnal. It is predominantly arboreal and occasionally terrestrial, only occasionally coming down to bases of trees and vines. It spends most of its time in the canopy, living in nests or burrows in middle or high canopies.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Sahyadris Forest Rat has a very restricted distribution, occurring in 45,306 km?®. It is threatened by habitat loss from conversion of forests to plantations, habitat fragmentation, logging, collection of minor forest produce, use of pesticide, and planting of exotic species. Nevertheless, it is classified as a pestunder Schedule V of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act. Additional research is needed to fully understand its natural history, taxonomy, and conservation threats.

Bibliography. ChandrasekarRao & Sunquist (1996), Johnsingh & Manjrekar (2015), Molur (2016k), Musser & Carleton (2005), Pages et al. (2011), Tiwari et al. (1972), Verneau et al. (1998).