797.

Armandbville’s Giant Tree Rat

Papagomys armandvillei

French: Rat de dArmandville / German: Flores-Riesenratte / Spanish: Rata arboricola gigante de Armandville

Other common names: Armandville’s Papagomys, Flores Giant Rat, Flores Giant Tree Rat

Taxonomy. Mus armandvillei:Jentink, 1892,

Pulau Flores, Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sunda Islands), Indonesia.

Phylogenetic affinities of Papagomys are

currently unknown relative to other murines, although it isundoubtedly in Rattini . The extinct P. theodorverhoeveni was recently claimed to be extant based on a single specimen, but later examination showed it to be a subadult P. armanduville:. There are various other subfossil and fossil rats on Flores (e.g. Sys florensis and possibly Hooijeromys nusatenggara) that could still occur on the island with further sampling, especially because Paulamys naso, which was described from subfossil remains from the island, was found to be extant. Monotypic.

Distribution. Flores I, Indonesia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 275-435 mm,tail 265-360 mm, ear 24-31 mm, hindfoot 75-88 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Armanduville’s Giant Tree Rat is highly distinctive, very large, and chunky, with long, dense, and harsh pelage. Dorsum is dark brown or tan throughout and lighter on sides. Venteris pale gray, slightly suffused with tan, and is sharply demarcated from dorsum. Feet are white, hindfeet are long, and forefeet are wide. Ears are relatively small and rounded, dark brown, and covered sparsely in small brown hair; vibrissae are very long and black. Tail is short and stout, covered in short hair, blackish brown for basal two-thirds, and white, pale brown, or blackish brown with small unpigmented spots for distal one-third. Skull is large, long, and slender. The mite genus Laelaps has been found on Armandbville’s Giant Tree Rat.

Habitat. Various forest types from sea level up to ¢.900 m, the maximum elevation for Flores Island.

Food and Feeding. Armandville’s Giant Tree Rat probably eats leaves, buds,fruits, and some insects.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Armandbville’s Giant Tree Rat is probably nocturnal and terrestrial, nesting in burrows.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCNRed List. Armandville’s Giant Tree Rat has a relatively small distribution, although it seemsless affected by habitat disturbance than other murid species from this region and can be found in disturbed and secondary habitats. It occurs in Rutong Protection Forest, but it is hunted for food and by introduced predators (domestic cats and dogs) that might be significant threats. Overall population might be declining, but more research is needed to confirm this.

Bibliography. Aplin, Helgen et al. (2008), Musser (1981b), Musser & Carleton (2005), Suyanto (1998), Suyanto & Watts (2002), Tenorio (1975), Zijlstra et al. (2008).