322.

Guadalcanal Giant Rat

Uromys porculus

French: Uromys de Guadalcanal / German: Guadalcanal-Riesenratte / Spanish: Rata gigante de Guadalcanal

Other common names: Gaudalcanal Rat, Guadalcanal Uromys

Taxonomy. Uromys porculus Thomas, 1904,

“Aola, Guadalcanar [= Guadalcanal Island], Solomon Islands.”

Within Uromys, U. porculus in included in subgenus Cyromys along with the other two Guadalcanal species, namely U. imperator and U. rex. Monotypic. Distribution. Guadalcanal I, Solomon Is. Descriptive notes. Head-body 220 mm, tail 130 mm, ear 19 mm, hindfoot 43 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Guadalcanal Giant Rat is the second smallest species in the distinctive genus Uromys . Pelage is short and soft, with longer bristly guard hairs. Dorsal pelage is reddish brown, being browner near head, redder near rump, and grayer as it fades to ventral pelage on the side; ventral pelage is grayish white with grayunderfur. Feet are very broad and of a dull white coloration. Ears are very small and rounded; vibrissae are long. Tail is very short (59% of head-body length), naked, has fine scaling, and is monocolored black. Skull is longer and narrower than that of the King Giant Rat ( U. rex), and with narrower molars than in the Emperor Giant Rat ( U. imperator).

Habitat. Probably lowland tropical forests.

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 Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Guadalcanal Giant Ratis still known only from the holotype collected sometime between 1886 and 1888, and is possibly extinct. A sighting potentially of this species was made in November 1989, but this probably represented a species of Melomys similar to the Bougainville Mosaic-tailed Rat ( M. bougainville), since it was climbing in canes and not terrestrial. The reason for the Guadalcanal Giant Rat’s decline and possible extinction are unknown, but it may have involved a number of factors, including overhunting and loss ofsuitable habitat, or competition, predation, and disease transmission from introduced species. Further surveys are needed to confirm its continued existence on the island.

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