New_Ireland_forest_rat

New Ireland forest rat

New Ireland forest rat

Species of rodent

The New Ireland forest rat (Rattus sanila) is a large rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to New Ireland, in the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea.

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Binomial name ...

Description

Ratus sanila is known only by the discovery of some 7 subfossil fragments of jaw dated to over 3000 years old. The molars of this particular species are broad and have a very complex structure of the cusp. The diastema is also longer than in other species of the genus Rattus suggesting a separate species which may be a relict of an archaic or ancestral dispersal of Rattus stock to New Guinea and Australia. This species probably still survives in some primary forest.[1]

References

  1. [1]
    Wilson, edited by Don E.; Reeder, DeeAnn M. (2005). Mammal species of the world : a taxonomic and geographic reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)


Stub icon

This Murinae article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article New_Ireland_forest_rat, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.