198.

Mindanao Lowland Forest Mouse

Apomys littoralis

French: Apomys cétier / German: Kiisten-Philippinenwaldmaus / Spanish: Raton de bosque de tierras bajas de Mindanao

Other common names: Mindanao Lowland Apomys

Taxonomy. Rattus (Apomys) littoralis Sanborn, 1952,

“Bugasan, altitude 50 feet [= 15 m], Cotabato Province, Mindanao Island, Philippine Islands.”

Apomys littoralis is a member of subgenus Apomys . Its relationship with A. hylocoetes, the type species of Apomys, was first recognized by D. H.Johnson in 1962. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known with certainty only from Mindanao I (Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao provinces), Philippines;

populations on Leyte, Biliran, and Bohol Is are tentatively referred to this species. A related population on Negros I is considered to represent an undescribed species.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 100-103 mm, tail 122-126 mm, ear 16-17 mm, hindfoot 26-27 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Species of Apomys are softfurred, 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 Apomysare small, longtailed, and typically most active in canopy. The Mindanao Lowland Forest Mouse, a medium-sized member of this subgenus, has fur on upperparts, flanks, and outer surfaces of limbs dense and very soft, without spinesor stiff hairs, tawny brown on back and head, paler on flanks; fur on underparts and inside of limbsis mostly gray with white tips, but with some patches of all-white fur on chest; ears relatively short. Upper surfaces offoreand hindfeet “light brown,” which suggests that dark fur of limbs extends onto extremities; hindfeet relatively long and narrow, as in other members of subgenus Apomys, plantar pads relatively small and well separated, digits moderately long and slender,all with sharply pointed claws. Tail is relatively long (120-125% of head-body length), grayish brown above and below for entire length, tail scales conspicuous, with short hairs and no terminal brush. Available crania are damaged, but do not show any exceptional features. A karyotype reported by E. A. Rickart and G. G. Musser in 1993 for a sample from Leyte Island (chromosomal complement 2n = 44, FN = 88) represents an undescribed species.

Habitat. Capture localities indicate probable occurrence in evergreen tropical rainforest, including lowland rainforest and montane forest. Elevational range on Mindanao is 15 m to ¢.1400 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Lowland to mid-elevation rainforests on Mindanao Island have been severely impacted by forestry activities, and populations ofthis species are likely to be highly fragmented.

Bibliography. Heaney et al. (1998), Johnson (1962), Kennerley (2016g), Musser (1982a), Musser & Carleton (2005), Musser & Heaney (1992), Rickart & Musser (1993), Rickart et al. (1993), Sanborn (1952a).