369.

Malayan Tree Rat

Pithecheir parvus

French: Pithécheir de Malaisie / German: Malaya-Affenfuldratte / Spanish: Rata arboricola de Malasia

Other common names: Malay Peninsula Pithecheir, Malayan Woolly Rat, Malay Woolly Tree Rat, Monkey-footed Rat

Taxonomy. Pithecheirus [sic] melanurus parvus Kloss, 1916,

near Kuala Kubu, Bukit Kutu, Selangor, Malay Peninsula.

Pithecheir parvus was for long considered part of P. melanurus, but the species was rehabilitated by I. Muul and B. LL. Lim in 1971. In 1983, G. G. Musser and C. Newcomb discussed in detail the morphology of the genus and species. A molecular study by M. Pages and colleagues in 2016 found this taxon close to Cremnomys in a

Millardiini tribe. ry P. parvus was not included in an extensive muroid phylogeny by S. J. Steppan and |. J. Schenk in 2017. Monotypic.

Distribution. Peninsular Malaysia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 122-180 mm, tail 157-215 mm, ear 13-19 mm, hindfoot 25-30 mm; weight 49-146 g. The Malayan Tree Rat, and its larger congener,is a a unique species of medium-sized arboreal rat with soft, long, woolly pelage. Dorsum is brownish red with slate gray based hairs. Ventral pelage is whitish gray with a buffy tinge on the chin and sides. Dorsum and venter are not sharply demarcated. Feet are somewhat monkey-like and adapted for arboreal life, being broad and short with claws on all digits (unlike many other murids), enlarged pads at the tips oftheir toes, and a widely separated hallux;feet are pinkish in color. Ears are short and translucent, being white at the base. Tail is long (107-1185 of head-body length), prehensile, hairless except for the basal 18 mm, which are covered in brownish red fur, and grayish white except for the furred base. Skull with inflated bullae (25% of skull length) and molar cusps distinctly separated instead of fused into ridges. Females have two pairs of inguinal mammae. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 50; FN = 64.

Habitat. Primary lowland rainforests at up to 1200 m; found also in secondary forests.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Malayan Tree Rats are nocturnal and arboreal. Theylive in the forest understory, climbing about in the short trees, coils of woody vines, and tops of palms and tree ferns; they also build large globular nests.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List because the status ofits populations is unknown, as is the extent ofits geographic distribution. It was recently collected in Krau Reserve.

Bibliography. Bartels (1937), Corbet & Hill (1992), Ean et al. (2014), Francis (2008), Kloss (1916b), Lim & Muul (1975), Musser & Carleton (2005), Musser & Newcomb (1983), Muul & Lim (1971), Pages et al. (2016), Steppan & Schenk (2017).