Published December 31, 2005 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Melomys fulgens

Description

Melomys fulgens (Thomas 1920)

[Uromys] fulgens Thomas 1920, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, 6: 426.

Type Locality: Indonesia, S Pulau Seram, Teluk Taluti (=Teloeti Bay).

Vernacular Names: Seram Long-tailed Melomys.

Distribution: Recorded only from the southern coast of Seram Isl.

Discussion: Still known only by the holotype and one other specimen (in BMNH; Helgen, 2003 b). Originally described as a Uromys, arranged as a subspecies of M. leucogaster by Rümmler (1938) and Ellerman (1941), placed in synonymy of that species by Musser and Carleton (1993), but treated as a distinct species by Tate (1951), Laurie and Hill (1954), Flannery (1995 b), and Menzies (1996). Although superficially very similar in its morphology to M. leucogaster, it has a much longer tail relative to length of head and body that is scaleless and calloused near the tip, indicating dorsal prehensility, an adaptation absent in the shorter-tailed M. leucogaster. Reviewed by Flannery (1995 b) and Helgen (2003 b).

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 1378, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7316535

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Scientific name authorship
Thomas
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Order
Rodentia
Family
Muridae
Genus
Melomys
Species
fulgens
Taxon rank
species
Taxonomic concept label
Melomys fulgens (Thomas, 1920) sec. Wilson & Reeder, 2005

References

  • Helgen, K. M. 2003 b. A review of the rodent fauna of Seram, Moluccas, with the description of a new subspecies of mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys rufescens paveli. Journal of Zoology, London, 261: 165 - 172.
  • Ellerman, J. R. 1941. The families and genera of living rodents. Vol. II. Family Muridae. British Museum (Natural History), London, 690 pp.
  • Musser, G. G., and M. D. Carleton. 1993. Family Muridae. Pp. 501 - 755, in: Mammal species of the world, a taxonomic and geographic reference, Second ed. (D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder, eds.). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D. C., xviii + 1206 pp.
  • 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.
  • Laurie, E. M. O., and J. E. Hill. 1954. List of land mammals of New Guinea, Celebes and adjacent islands 1758 - 1952. British Museum (Natural History) Publications, London, 175 pp.
  • Menzies, J. I. 1996. A systematic revision of Melomys (Rodentia: Muridae) of New Guinea. Australian Journal of Zoology, 44: 367 - 426.