318.

New Britain Island Giant Rat

Uromys neobritannicus

French: Uromys de Nouvelle-Bretagne / German: Neubritannien-Riesenratte / Spanish: Rata gigante de Nueva Bretana

Other common names: Bismark Giant Rat, New Britain Island Uromys

Taxonomy. Uromys neobrittanicus [sic] Tate & Archbold, 1935,

“New Britain Island, Solomon Islands,” Papua New Guinea .

Within Uromys, U. neobritannicusis placed under subgenus Uromys along with U. anak, U. boeadn, U. caudimaculatus, U. emmae, and U. hadrourus, on basis of morphology, U. neobritannicus seems to be sister to U. anak . Monotypic.

Distribution. New Britain I, off NE New Guinea.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 252-298 mm, tail 243-279 mm, ear 26-5-28 mm, hindfoot 51-58 mm; weight 570-730 g. The New Britain Island Giant Rat is a large, distinctive species of Uromys . Pelage is long and harsh. Dorsal pelage is reddish brown with many coppery guard hairs, giving it a coppery shine; ventral pelage is yellow. Feet are wide and furred dorsally, being brownish in color. Ears are rounded; vibrissae are long and black. Tail is relatively short and entirely black. Skull has a larger postorbital process than those of U. anak and U. boeadii . Chromosomal complement is 2n = 32, FN = 58

Habitat. One specimen was caught in tropical forest regrowth. This species is found in lowland areas (elevations of 30-500 m), although the full extent of habitat in which it occurs is probably much wider.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The New Britain Island Giant Rat is nocturnal and abnormally terrestrial for the genus.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Only solitary animals have been collected.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The New Britain Island Giant Rat is apparently common in New Britain, although it is known only from five specimens. It is threatened by deforestation through logging and the creation of oil-palm plantations, along with hunting by local inhabitants.

Bibliography. Bryant et al. (2011), Buchanan et al. (2008), Flannery (1995a), Groves & Flannery (1994), Helgen, Leary & Wright (2016b), Musser & Carleton (2005), Steppan & Schenk (2017).