Mallomys

Mallomys
Mallomys
Temporal range: Pleistocene to Recent
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Subfamily: Murinae
Genus: Mallomys
Thomas, 1898
Species

Mallomys aroaensis
Mallomys gunung
Mallomys istapantap
Mallomys rothschildi

Mallomys is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae.[1] The name of the genus derives from the Greek μαλλός, mallós, wool, and μῦς, mȳs, mouse/rat. These very large rats weigh between 0.95 and 2 kilograms (2.1 and 4.4 lb) and are native to highlands in New Guinea.[2] Little is known about their behavior, but they are believed to feed on leaves, grasses and other plant material.[2]

It contains the following species:

Conservation International (CI) and the Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI) discovered two possibly undescribed mammals upon visit of the Foja Mountains in June 2007: a Cercartetus pygmy possum, one of the world's smallest marsupials, and a 1.4 kilograms (3.1 lb) Mallomys giant rat (five times the size of a Brown Rat) - found in Indonesia's Papua in 2005.[4]

References

  1. ^ Musser, Guy G.; Carleton, Michael D. (16 November 2005). "Superfamily Muroidea (pp. 894-1531)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 894-1531. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
  2. ^ a b Flannery, T. (1995). Mammals of New Guinea. Pp. 284-291. ISBN 0 7301 0411 7
  3. ^ BBC News 2009-09-06: Giant rat found in 'lost volcano' http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8210000/8210394.stm
  4. ^ Afp.google.com, Two new mammals found in Indonesian 'lost world': green group