Rattus enganus

679.

Enggano Island Rat

Rattus enganus

French: Rat d'Enggano / German: Enggano-Ratte / Spanish: Rata de Enggano

Other common names: Enggano Rat

Taxonomy. Mus enganus G. S. Miller, 1906,

“Engano Island [= Pulau Enggano],”

Indonesia

Placement of enganus in Rattus is unre-solved, but itis considered morphologically primitive for the genus. It is morphologi-cally similar to R.macleari and R. xanthurus and probably related to the two recently extinct species from Christmas Islands, R.macleari and R. nativitatis. There are no genetic studies involving R. enganus. Monotypic.

Distribution. Enggano I, off SW Sumatra.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 228 mm, tail 257 mm, ear 19 mm, hindfoot 46 mm (from type specimen, a male). No specific data are available for body weight. The Enggano Island Rat is an endemic and very distinct species of Rattus. Pelage is soft (almost silky), long, and covered in short grooved black spines. Dorsum is dull, pale ocherous buff, suffused with smoke gray on sides and cheeks and blending into ventral pelage rather than being sharply demarcated. Venter is pale smoke gray, with darker gray based fur. Feet are scantily covered in fine light gray hairs. Vibrissae are long and soft. Tail is ¢.113% of head-body length, unicolored dark brown, and covered in small hairs. Skull has long and wide rostrum.

Habitat. Probably forests habitats.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. The Enggano Island Rat is only known from a single specimen collected more than 100 years ago. It might be extinct; a survey in the 1980s did not record it. It is threatened by habitat loss and probably by competition with the Roof Rat (R. rattus).

Bibliography. Gerrie & Kennerley (2016a), Miller (1906), Musser & Carleton (2005).