A NEW SPECIES OF \u3ci\u3eRHYNCHOMYS\u3c/i\u3e (MURIDAE) FROM THE PHILIPPINES

. . . Mr. Whitehead has made a most wonderful and unexpected discovery, that of a new and peculiar Mammal-fauna inhabiting the Luzon highlands, and, so far as is yet known, mostly isolated on a small plateau on the top of Monte Data, in the centre of Northern Luzon, at an altitude of from 7000 to 8000 feet. With this dramatic announcement, Oldfield Thomas (1898:377) introduced to naturalists the spectacular rats found by Whitehead: Crateromys schadenbergi, Carpomys melanurus, C. phaeurus, Batomys granti, Chrotomys whiteheadi, Celaenomys silaceus, and Rhynchomys soricoides. One of the most interesting of these to Thomas was R. soricoides, which he had previously named and briefly described in 1895. This shrew-rat is medium-sized with a very long muzzle, small eyes, short dense fur, dark brown upperparts, gray underparts, a short brown tail, and brown feet. Its very long and slender rostrum, small zygomatic plates, small white incisors, and tiny basined teeth indicated adaptations for special foods, possibly soft-bodied invertebrates. Nothing quite like Rhynchomys had been discovered before, either in the Philippines or elsewhere. Thomas based his description of R. soricoides on five individuals collected by Whitehead, all from Mount Data. Two others were obtained from Mount Data during 1946 and subsequently reported by Sanborn (1952). Rhynchomys was represented by these specimens until 1961, when an example was caught on Mount Isarog in the southeastern part of Luzon. That specimen, which forms the nucleus of our report, is significant because it indicates that Rhynchomys occurs on at least one other highland in Luzon, and because some of its morphological features fall outside the range of variation of the series taken on Mount Data. The differences in external and cranial characters between the two samples suggest to us that the specimen from Mount Isarog was drawn from a population that is reproductively isolated from that on Mount Data. We hypothesize that the specimen represents a new species, which we name Rhynchomys isarogensis (new species), and describe below

Murid rodents

p. 229-334 : ill., maps ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 330-334)."Four groups of murid rodents that were once included in Rattus are taken out of that genus: the Rattus niviventer-group from Southeast Asia and the Sunda Shelf, which is placed in the genus Niviventer; the Rattus sabanus-group, which comprises the genus Leopoldamys, also occurring in Southeast Asia, the Sunda Shelf, and the Mentawai Islands; Rattus ohiensis from Ceylon, which is placed in Srilankamys, new genus; and the Rattus beccarii-group of Sulawesi for which the new gneus, Margaretamys, is proposed not only for beccarii but also for the new species M. elegans and M. parvus. Anonymomys mindorensis, new genus and species, is proposed for an arboreal rat from Mindoro in the Philippines. The genera are diagnosed, described, compared with others, and their contents discussed. Their possible relationships to Lenothrix, Dacnomys, Chiromyscus, and Maxomys, groups that were either once considered to be part of Rattus or at least Rattus-like, are discussed in the context of their affinities relative to Rattus"--P. 229

Ricefield rat

30 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-30)."In the present report I document the identity of Rattus pesticulus, a taxon named and described by Oldfield Thomas (1921) from one specimen obtained in northeastern Celebes, with the ricefield rat, R. argentiventer. The ricefield rat lives in grasslands and fields of rice and has a spotty geographic distribution that extends from the mainland of Southeast Asia to the Philippines and New Guinea. I also list and discuss the scientific names that apply to R. argentiventer and point out the zoogeographic significance of its occurrence on Celebes and New Guinea"--P. [1]

Rodents from Celebes

19 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 18-19)

Notes on the Philippine rat, Limnomys, and the identity of Limnomys picinus, a composite. American Museum novitates ; no. 2636

14 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 13-14)."Limnomys is a genus of small rats represented by a handful of specimens from the Philippine Islands. Three species have been included within Limnomys: L. sibuanus, the type-species, and L. mearnsi, both from Mindanao; and L. picinus from Mindoro. I show in the present paper that mearnsi is likely only a geographic variant of L. sibuanus, and that the holotype of L. picinus is a composite: the skin is that of a juvenile of Rattus mindorensis and the skull is from a specimen of Limnomys mearnsi. The content of Limnomys is then restricted to one species with possible geographic variants; that species is now known only from the mountains of Mindanao. Its possible relatives live in forests of central Celebes"--P. [1]

Definitions of Rattus baluensis and Rattus korinchi

24 p. : ill., map ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-24)."Among the 14 genera and 41 species of murid rodents that are native to the peninsula and islands on the Sunda Shelf are five species of Rattus. Two of these, R. baluensis from Gunung Kinabalu in Sabah and R. korinchi from the mountains of central Sumatra, were regarded as isolated mountain populations of one species. Restudy of specimens in museum collections indicates the Bornean population to be a species closely related to the widespread Sundaic R. tiomanicus, which is a relative of R. rattus and other species native to continental Asia and India. Morphological characteristics of R. korinchi are unlike any other species of Rattus. These endemic Bornean and Sumatran Rattus are contrasted and defined"--P. [1]

Sulawesi Bunomys.

313 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 26 cm.Two new species of of Bunomys are described, B. karokophilus and B. torajae, both from the west-central mountain region of central Sulawesi. The descriptions are presented within the context of a systematic review of Bunomys in which are provided characteristics of the genus and species (external form, secondary sexual traits, spermatozoa, stomach morphology, skull, dentition, chromosomes); diagnoses, geographic and elevational distributions; sympatric, syntopic, and parapatric distributional relationships; morphological, distributional, and in some cases ecological comparisons among the species; natural histories for certain species derived from field observations; parasites; allocation of generic and specific synonyms; and documentation of subfossils for two of the species. Eight species are recognized; all are nocturnal, terrestrial, and endemic to the island of Sulawesi. Bunomys chrysocomus has been collected from most regions of the island and inhabits both lowland tropical evergreen and montane rain forests (elevational range = 250-2200 m). Bunomys coelestis is endemic to montane forests on Gunung Lompobatang, the high volcano at the southern end of the southwestern peninsula (1829-2500 m). Bunomys prolatus has been reported only from mountain forest on Gunung Tambusisi at the western end of the eastern peninsula (1829 m). Bunomys torajae, n. sp., is described from a small sample collected in montane forest on Gunung Gandangdewata at the southern end of the west-central mountain block (2500-2600 m). Bunomys fratrorum is currently documented only from the northeastern area of the northern peninsula where it occupies habitats in lowland tropical evergreen and montane rain forests (coastal plain to 1982 m). Bunomys andrewsi has been collected primarily in lowland tropical evergreen rain forests in the core of Sulawesi and on the eastern, southeastern, and southwestern peninsula (coastal plain to 1600 m). Bunomys penitus is strictly montane and recorded only from the west-central mountain block and Pegunungan Mekongga on the southeastern peninsula (1285-2287 m). Bunomys karokophilus, n. sp., is currently known only from lowland tropical evergreen rain forest in the northern portion of the west-central mountain block (823-1150 m). Analyses of morphometric traits (cranial and dental measurements) results in a phenetic relationship among the species in which B. chrysocomus, B. coelestis, B. prolatus, and B. torajae, n. sp., form one group characterized by small physical size and small molars, and B. fratrorum, B. andrewsi, B. penitus, and B. karokophilus another group in which larger physical size and heavier molars are the phenetic definers. Whether or not the integrity of this phenetic pattern will withstand testing by analyses of DNA sequences, it remains a convenient arrangement in which to present and define the eight species. The morphological, elevational, and ecological relationships among the four species of Bunomys (B. chrysocomus, B. andrewsi, B. penitus, and B. karokophilus, n. sp.) collected along my transect area in the northern portion of the west-central mountain block (presently known as Lore Lindu National Park) and comparison between them and the elevational distributions of the other murids encountered along the transect are described...

Murid rodents

65 p. : ill., map ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-65)."Morphologic and geographic species-limits of Rattus cremoriventer and R. langbianis are outlined in the present report. Rattus cremoriventer is polytypic (five subspecies) and is recorded from peninsular Thailand and Malaya and some offshore islands, Nias Island, Sumatra, Bangka and Billiton islands, Java, Bali, and Borneo and some of its offshore islands. The species has been collected only in forests and is mostly arboreal and nocturnal. The monotypic R. langbianis is morphologically closely related to R. cremoriventer and its known geographic distribution extends from eastern India through Burma, Thailand, and Laos to North and South Vietnam. It, too, is a forest animal but little is known of its habits. Thirteen scientific names, including langbianis, have been allocated to R. cremoriventer by past workers. These names are discussed and properly reallocated in this paper"--P. [1]

Indochinese Rattus losea

32 p. : ill., map ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-32)."The morphological characteristics, geographic distribution, habitat, and habits of Rattus losea are presented. The species occurs in grass, scrub, and agricultural habitats of Indochina north of the Isthmus of Kra (lat. 1050'N). Its closest phylogenetic relative is the new species, Rattus osgoodi, known from samples obtained from the Langbian Peak region in southern Vietnam. The morphological and geographic features of R. losea and its relative are contrasted with those of other Indochinese Rattus, namely, R. rattus, R. norvegicus, R. exulans, R. sikkimensis, R. nitidus, R. turkestanicus, R. argentiventer, and R. brunneus. The ricefield rat, R. argentiventer, may be more closely related to R. losea and the new species than to any other species of Indochinese Rattus, a hypothesis that should be tested with other kinds of data. Results presented here are part of a systematic study of native Asian Rattus"--P. [1]

Oryzomyine rodents

22 p. : ill., map ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 21-22)."The holotype of the Colombian Oryzomys villosus is shown to be a composite: the skull is an example of Oryzomys albigularis, the skin from an Oryzomys talamancae. The latter, usually included within the species definition of O. capito, appears to be distinct biological species with a geographic range extending from eastern Costa Rica through Panama to the valleys and lower Andean slopes of Ecuador, Colombia, and western Venezuela; its habitat is evergreen and deciduous tropical forest from near sea level up to about 5000 ft. Identifying villosus and talamancae is part of systematically revising the genus Oryzomys, a task that can now be accomplished by study of the many specimens now housed in collections of natural history museums"--P. [1]