317.

Emma’s Giant Rat

Uromys emmae

French: Uromys d'Emma / German: Emma-Riesenratte / Spanish: Rata gigante de Emma

Other common names: Emma's Uromys

Taxonomy. Uromys emmae Groves & Flannery, 1994,

Pulau Awai (= Owi Island), Geelvinck Bay, Schouten Island Group, Province of Papua, West Papua (= Irian Jaya), Indonesia.

Within Uromys, U. emmae is placed under subgenus Uromys along with U. anak, U. boeadii, U. caudimaculatus, U. hadrourus, and U. neobritannicus; morphologically and phylogenetically it ismost closely related to U. caudimaculatus and U. hadrourus . Monotypic.

Distribution. OwiI, in Padaido Is, off NW New Guinea; possibly also on Supiori I.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 232 mm, tail 258 mm, ear 20-5 mm, hindfoot 50-5 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Emma’s Giant Rat is a relatively small species of Uromys similar to the White-tailed Giant Rat ( U. caudimaculatus), from which it isdistinguished by having white mottlingrestricted to tip of tail. Pelage is long and harsh, consisting mainly of long, dark guard hairs tipped with brown. Dorsal pelage is brownish black and darker near rump, somewhatless rufescent than that of the Whitetailed Giant Rat; there is a ring of slightly darker hairs around eyes. Ventral pelage is sparsely furred and is a dirty white coloration throughout. Feet are unusually broad and short, being covered in short white hairs dorsally, with some brown hairs near second and third digits. Ears are naked and rounded; vibrissae are long and black. Tail is long (111% of head-body length) and black basally, becoming lighter or more mottled toward tip. Skull has a short and narrow rostrum compared with congeners. There are two pairs of mammae, both inguinal.

Habitat. Probably tropical moist forests.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Little is known, although a possibly lactating female was caught (the holotype) in July.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Emma’s Giant Rat has an extremely small distributional range and it may be extinct, since it was last reported when the type specimen was collected, in 1946. Although Emma’s Giant Rat or the Biak Island Giant Rat ( U. boeadii) may potentially be found on Supiori Island, since the native human inhabitants seem to know about the animal, it would still be classified as Critically Endangered. Further research is needed in order fully to understand the natural history, evolution, and threats to this species.

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