257.

Short-tailed Talaud Mosaic-tailed Rat

Melomys caurinus

French: Mélomys a queue courte / German: Kurzschwanz-Talaud-Mosaikschwanzratte / Spanish: Rata de cola

moteada de Talaud de cola corta

Other common names: Short-tailed Talaud Melomys

Taxonomy. Uromys caurinus Thomas, 1921,

Pulau Karakelang, Kepulauan Talaud, Indonesia.

Initially placed in genus Uromys, M. caurinuswas transferred into Melomys by O. Thomas in 1922 and then placed in subgenus Melomys as a subspecies of M. leucogaster by H. Riummler in 1936 and 1938. G. H. H. Tate in 1951 recognized caurinus as a distinct species, as did T. F. Flannery in 1995 and J. I. Menzies in 1996. A recent geometric morphometric analysis of skulls resulted in P. H. Fabreand colleagues in 2017 supporting the proximity between M. leucogaster, M. caurinus, and M. talaudium. Monotypic.

Distribution. Karakelang I and SalebabuI, in Talaud Is, Indonesia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 176 mm,tail 136-137 mm, ear 15 mm, hindfoot 30 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. This robust Melomys species exhibits a cinnamon-brown dorsal pelage, paler laterally, and a white belly. Tail, which is pale brown, is shorter (75%) than head—body length. The Short-tailed Talaud Mosaic-tailed Rat is sympatric with the Long-tailed Talaud Mosaic-tailed Rat (M.talaudium), which has a longertail relative to head-body length.

Habitat. [Lowland forest.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Short-tailed Talaud Mosaic-tailed Rats are terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Shorttailed Talaud Mosaic-tailed Rat is known only from four specimens from twolocalities. Deforestation seems to be a major threat.

Bibliography. Corbet & Hill (1992), Fabre, Fitriana et al. (2017), Flannery (1995a), Menzies (1996), Rimmler (1936, 1938), Tate (1951), Thomas (1921i, 1922c).