Rattus ringens subsp. dobodurae Troughton 1946

Rattus ringens dobodurae Troughton, 1946

Rec. Aust. Mus. 21(7): 407. (24 June 1946).

Common name. Cape York Rat.

Current name. Rattus leucopus dobodurae Troughton, 1946; following Taylor et al. (1982) and Musser & Carleton (2005).

Holotype. M.6960 by original designation. Male adult, [Field no. 253], skull (Fig. 46), study skin, collected on 25 April 1944, presented by Captain G. M. Kohls, USA Typhus Commission, and registered on 23 June 1944.

Condition. Cranium missing jugal bone from both zygomatic arches; both dentaries complete. Study skin complete.

Type locality. Dobodura district, Northern Province, Papua New Guinea.

Paratypes. (5, 4 by subsequent determination). All with same data as holotype, except dates of collection: M.6987 (by original designation), female (allotype), skull, study skin, collection date not given, presented by USA Typhus Commission, registered September 1944; M.6917, male, skull, study skin, collection date not given; M.6973, male, skull, study skin, collected on 27 May 1944; M.6974, male, body in alc., collected on 21 June 1944; M.6988, young female, skull, study skin, collection date not given, registered in September 1944.

Comments. Troughton cites registration numbers for the holotype and allotype but does not indicate the total number in the type series. However, he commented that the holotype and allotype were submitted with a series from Dobodura presented by the US Typhus Commission. Another four specimens of that series are identified as R. ringens dobodurae in Troughton’s handwriting in the register and these are the only specimens in the register with data matching that of the holotype. Although none of the four are marked as paratypes in the register or on specimen index cards, we treat them as such on the understanding that they would have been examined by Troughton during preparation of the manuscript.