812.

Luzon Short-nosed Rat

Tryphomys adustus

French: Rat de Lucon / German: Mearns-Luzon-Ratte / Spanish: Rata de pies largos de Luzén

Other common names: Luzon Tryphomys, Mearns's Luzon Rat

Taxonomy. Tryphomys adustus G. S. Miller, 1910, Haights-in-the-Oaks, Benguet, Lu-zon Island, Philippines. Closest relative of 1. adustus is Abditomys, both classified in the Philippine New Endemics in the tribe Rattini. Genetic studies are still needed. Monotypic. Distribution. Central Cordillera and Mt Makiling, Luzon I, Philippines. Descriptive notes. Head-body 174-198 mm, tail 150-181 mm, ear 20 mm, hindfoot 32-34 mm; weight 198 g. The Luzon Shortnosed Rat is medium-sized, with stocky body and tail equal to head-body length or shorter. Snout is short and broad. Ears are small. Hindfeet are long and narrow. Dorsalfur is thick, long, and shaggy, with long guard hairs. It has a grizzled appearance. Upperparts are brown, speckled with buff (salt and pepper); underparts are whitish gray or deep buffy gray (gray-based with yellowbrown tips). Dorsal surfaces of hindfeet are whitish gray or whitish brown. Tail is uniformly dark brown, with short hairs readily visible. Females have five pairs of mammae. Habitat. Wet habitats such as weedy second growth and rice fields, disturbed mossy forest, and other agricultural areas, often in more grassy areas near water, from sea level to elevations of ¢.2400 m. Food and Feeding. The Luzon Short-nosed Rat probably eats seeds and grasses. Breeding. No information. Activity patterns. Morphology suggests that the Luzon Short-nosed Rat is terrestrial. Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information. Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. The Luzon Short-nosed Rat is only known from three localities. Basic information is needed on its distribution, population size, habitat needs, and ecology. It is not known to occur in a protected area. Bibliography. Barbehenn et al. (1972), Boitani et al. (2006), Heaney, Balete, Dolar et al. (1998), Heaney, Balete & Rickart (2016), Heaney, Dolar et al. (2010), Kennerley (2016c¢), Miller (1910), Musser & Carleton (2005), Musser & Heaney (1992), Musser & Newcomb (1983), Rabor (1955), Rickart, Balete et al. (2016), Rickart, Heaney et al. (2011), Sanborn (1952a).

813. Ethiopian Amphibious Rat Nilopegamys plumbeus French: Rat d'Ethiopie / German: Athiopische Waldbachmaus / Spanish: Rata de agua de Etiopia Other common names: Ethiopian Water Mouse, Ethiopian Water Rat Taxonomy. Nilopegamys plumbeus Osgood, 1928, “from small stream tributary to the Little Abbai, between Sakalla and Njabarra, Gojam, Abyssinia [= NW Ethiopia].” Because of its derived morphology, genus Nilopegamys has not yet been placed in a Murinae tribe. Following its initial description, it was considered a valid species by some authors and a subspecies of Colomys goslingi by others. J. C. Kerbis Peterhans and B. D. Pattersonprovided a full description of the holotype in 1995, and showed that it differs from Colomys in multiple morpho-anatomical characteristics. P. H. Fabre and colleagues in 2015 found it possibly a member of tribe Praomyini, as did C. Denys and coworkers two years later. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality on the Ethiopian highlands.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 148 mm, tail 180 mm, ear 14-4 mm, hindfoot 40 mm; weight 80 g. Medium-sized rodent adapted to aquatic life, the Ethiopian Amphibious Rat has very soft grayish-black dorsal pelage and pure white belly. Head is long, and muzzle bulbous with long vibrissae. Ears are small, and there are postauricular spots. Hands and feet are white, long and broad. Tail is very long (120% of head-body length), with black tip, and is bicolored (black above, white below with thin black median line). Skull is flat, braincase rather large (enlarged brain), and foramen magnum enlarged.

Habitat. Recorded from highland, riparian habitat at 2800 m.

Food and Feeding. Probably smallfish.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Ethiopian Amphibious Rat is thought to be terrestrial and semiaquatic.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List but could be soon declared extinct. The Ethiopian Amphibious Rat is known from a single individual collected in 1927; despite many searches, it has not been found again. Its original habitat has been destroyed and is now overgrazed by cattle.

Bibliography. Denys et al. (2017), Fabre et al. (2015), Happold (2013a), Kerbis Peterhans & Patterson (1995), Monadjem et al. (2015), Musser & Carleton (2005).