Paramelomys rubex (Thomas, 1922)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6887260 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6841630 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1E30E275-344F-FFFE-E16F-2EE676458BE6 |
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treatment provided by |
Carolina |
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scientific name |
Paramelomys rubex |
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Mountain Mosaic-tailed Rat
French: Mélomys rubicond / German: Berg-Mosaikschwanzratte / Spanish: Rata de cola moteada de montana
Other common names: Mountain Paramelomys
Taxonomy. Melomys rubex Thomas, 1922 View in CoL ,
“Doormanpad-bivak, [Mamberano River, Papua Province,] N. W. New Guinea.”
Initially described in genus Melomys , P. rubex was put in subgenus Paramelomys as a subspecies of P. moncktoni by H Rimmler in 1936. J. I. Menzies, in returning Paramelomysto full genus rank in 1996, found P. rubex to be a valid species and provided a new diagnosis for this taxon; Menzies found that it belongs to a group
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composed of smaller species ofthe genus together with P. platyops and P. steini . Recent molecular study by P. Smissen and K. C. Rowe, in H. J. McLennan and colleagues’ 2017 analysis, found P. rubex to be sister taxon of P. platyops . Currently treated as monotypic.
Distribution. New Guinea, including the Central Range, Torricelli Mts, and Huon Peninsula. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 100-130 mm, tail 96-140 mm, ear 11-19 mm, hindfoot 25-30 mm; weight 31-57 g. Females are slightly smaller than males. The Mountain Mosaic-tailed Rat is one of the smallest members ofthe genus. It has gray-brown dense, soft woolly fur and a gray-white ventral pelage; cheeks are orange to buff. Tail is naked, black, and slightly longer than head-body length; there is one hair per tail scale. Females bear twopairs of mammae.
Habitat. Primary and secondary mountain forests, including mossy forest, from 1200 m to 2500 m. The Mountain Mosaic-tailed Rat can be found also in secondary forest.
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. Litter size is 1-2.
Activity patterns. The Mountain Mosaic-tailed Rat is terrestrial. It lives in burrows, but may be caught several meters above ground and is a good climber.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mountain Mosaic-tailed Rats seem to live in large territories, and a home range of 0-5 ha has been estimated.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Mountain Mosaic-tailed Rat is widespread and found in several protected areas. No major threats are identified.
Bibliography. Dwyer (1975, 1984), Flannery (1995b), McLennan et al. (2017), Menzies (1996), Rummler (1936), Thomas (1922a).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
