Rattus lugens (Miller 1903)
- Dataset
- Muridae
- Rank
- SPECIES
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Chordata
- class
- Mammalia
- order
- Rodentia
- family
- Muridae
- genus
- Rattus
- species
- Rattus lugens
biology_ecology
Habitat. Tropical lowland evergreen forest. Food and Feeding. No information. Breeding. No information. Activity patterns. No information. Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
conservation
Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Habitat of the Mentawai Archipelago Rat has been largely affected by deforestation from logging and agricultural expansion, and competition with invasive Rattus species is probably a threat. It has a restricted distribution (13,317 km?) and is not found in any protected areas. Additional research is needed to fully understand its natural history, taxonomy, and conservation threats.
description
Descriptive notes. Head-body 226 mm, tail 210 mm, hindfoot 41 mm (from holotype). No specific data are available for body weight. The Mentawai Archipelago Rat is large and distinctive, similar to the Simalur Archipelago Rat (R. simalurensis), being darker, less buffy, and larger. Pelage is dense, fine, and moderately coarse. Dorsum is brownish black, lighter and buffier on sides and blending into ventral pelage. Venteris slate gray, with rusty brown streak on chest. Feet are dull rusty brown dorsally. Ears are blackish brown. Tail is ¢. 93 % of head-body length and unicolored blackish brown. Skull is larger and narrower than on the Simalur Archipelago Rat. There are three pairs of mammae.
discussion
Rattus lugens is morphologically allied with R. adustus and R. simalurensis, which together seem to be related to R. tiomanicus, being part of the R. rattus species group. Monotypic.
distribution
Distribution. Siberut, Sipora, North Pagai, and South Pagai Is, Mentawai Archipelago, off W Sumatra.
materials_examined
Pulau UtaraPagai (= North Pagai Island), Kepulauan Mentawai, Indonesia.
Name
- Synonyms
- Mus lugens G. S. Miller 1903
- Homonyms
- Rattus lugens (Miller 1903)
- Common names
- Mentawai Archipelago Rat in English
- Mentawai Rat in English
- Mentawai-Ratte in German
- Rat des Mentawai in French
- Rata de Mentawai in language.