Published December 31, 2005 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Melomys capensis Tate 1951

Description

Melomys capensis Tate 1951

Melomys capensis Tate 1951, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 97: 295.

Type Locality: Australia, Queensland, Nesbit River, Rocky Scrub (east of Coen), 1500 ft (457 m).

Vernacular Names: Cape York Melomys.

Distribution: Australia, Queensland, Iron and McIlwraith Ranges of Cape York (north of Cooktown).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Originally described as a subspecies of M. cervinipes by Tate (1951:295), but separated as a distinct species by Baverstock et al. (1980) based on differences in blood proteins; otherwise, M. capensis and M. cervinipes are similar in morphological traits and body size (Watts and Aslin, 1981:82). Other allozymic results presented by Baverstock et al. (1981). Reviewed by Leung (1995), who also presented the first detailed ecological study of the species (Leung, 1999 a).

Notes

Published as part of Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, pp. 1189-1531 in Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore :The Johns Hopkins University Press on page 1376, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7316535

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Scientific name authorship
Tate
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Order
Rodentia
Family
Muridae
Genus
Melomys
Species
capensis
Taxon rank
species
Taxonomic concept label
Melomys capensis Tate, 1951 sec. Wilson & Reeder, 2005

References

  • Tate, G. H. H. 1951. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 65. The rodents of Australia and New Guinea. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 97: 183 - 430.
  • Baverstock, P. R., C. H. S. Watts, M. Adams, and M. Gelder. 1980. Chromosomal and electrophoretic studies of Australian Melomys (Rodentia: Muridae). Australian Journal of Zoology, 28: 553 - 574.
  • Watts, C. H. S., and H. J. Aslin. 1981. The rodents of Australia. Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 321 pp.
  • Baverstock, P. R., C. H. S. Watts, M. Adams, and S. R. Cole. 1981. Genetical relationships among Australian rodents (Muridae). Australian Journal of Zoology, 29: 289 - 303.
  • Leung, L. K. - P. 1995. Cape York Melomys, Melomys capensis. Pp. 634 - 635, in Mammals of Australia (R. Strahan, ed.). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C., 756 pp.
  • Leung, L. K. - P. 1999 a. Ecology of Australian tropical rainforest mammals. II. The Cape York melomys, Melomys capensis (Muridae: Rodentia). Wildlife Research, 26: 307 - 316.