Melomys leucogaster (Jentink 1908)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 1189-1531 : 1378

Melomys leucogaster (Jentink 1908)

[Melomys] leucogaster (Jentink 1908) , Nova Guinea, 9: 3.

Type Locality: New Guinea, S Prov. of Papua (= Irian Jaya), Lorentz River, Alkmaar, 300 m.

Vernacular Names: White-bellied Melomys.

Synonyms: Melomys latipes Tate and Archbold 1935 .

Distribution: New Guinea; primarily S side of Central Cordillera from the type locality in Prov. of Papua (= Irian Jaya) east through Papua New Guinea to the Mori River on the mainland (see Flannery, 1995 a:296), sea level to 1400 m ( Menzies, 1996); also recorded from Jayapura (Hollandia) on north coast of Prov. of Papua (= Irian Jaya) ( Tate, 1951), Yule Isl off the coast of E Papua New Guinea in Central Province, and small treeless offshore islands (Flannery, 1995 a).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: A close morphological relative of M. rufescens and placed in "The rufescens Division" of Melomys by Menzies (1996). Tate (1951:307) recorded four specimens ( AMNH 152842-152845) from Hollandia (Jayapura) on the north coast of Prov. of Papua (= Irian Jaya, Indonesia), which is way outside of the known range of M. leucogaster , and thought by Menzies (1996:405) to be an error. Musser examined the rats, which are examples of M. leucogaster , and there is no indication in the catalog or other archival documents that they could have been collected elsewhere and mislabeled.