377.

Kondana Soft-furred Rat

Millardia kondana

French: Rat de Singarth / German: Maharashtra-Weichfellratte / Spanish: Rata de pelaje suave de Kondana

Other common names: Kondana Rat, Large Metad

Taxonomy. Millardia kondana Mishra& Dhanda, 1975,

Sinhgarh (18° 23’ N, 73° 42’ E),Poona District, Maharashtra State, India.

Recently describedbased on its morphological characters and size; at the same time its authors reviewed the whole genus. Monotypic.

Distribution. Endemic to India, known only from the Sinhgarh Plateau.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 150-200 mm, tail 110-186 mm, ear 16-23 mm, hindfoot 27-34 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Kondana Soft-furred Ratis the largest member of Millardia . Tail is shorter than head-body length, and is poorly haired and weakly bicolored. Dorsal pelage is dark brown, ventral grayish white. The large skull displays rather small tympanic bullae, representing less than 15% ofits total length. Females bear four pairs of mammae. Chromosomal complementis 2n = 36, FN = 36.

Habitat. Tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forest and tropical scrub on Sinhgarh Plateau, at elevations around 1270 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Breeding was observed in October; litter size was 2-9.

Activity patterns. Kondana Soft-furred Rats are nocturnal, terrestrial, and fossorial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List due to its extremely restricted distribution (c.1 km? orless). It is found at a single location, and is facing a continuing decline in the quality ofits habitat.

Bibliography. Agrawal (2000), Mishra & Dhanda (1975).