319.

Great Key Island Giant Rat

Uromys siebersi

French: Uromys de Siebers / German: Kei-Inseln-Riesenratte / Spanish: Rata gigante de Kai Besar

Other common names: Great Key Giant Rat, Great Key Island Uromys

Taxonomy. Uromys siebersi Thomas, 1923,

Gunung Daab, Pulau Kai Besar (Great Key Island), Maluku Tengah (Moluccas), Indonesia.

Uromys siebersi is not included in any species group and has generally been considered a synonym of U. caudimaculatus, although it warrants species status becauseit has a very short tail relative to head-body length, small slitlike incisive foramina, and a distinctly bowed skull. Monotypic.

Distribution. Kai Besar I, Kai Is, Indonesia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 250-280 mm, tail 218-234 mm, ear 22-26 mm, hindfoot 47-50 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Great Key Island Giant Rat is a mid-sized species of Uromys similar to the White-tailed Giant Rat (U. caudimaculatus). Dorsal pelage is buffy brown, mixed with patches of cinnamon brown; many individual hairs tawny. Ventral pelage is sparsely haired and white throughout. Feet are dull whitish. Ears are naked and rounded; vibrissae are long and black. Tail is short (¢.85% of head-body length) and dark, with mottling toward tip, and is slightly lighter ventrally. Skull is distinctly bowed, and it has small, slit-like incisive foramina.

Habitat. Probably primary and secondary tropical moist forests.

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 Great Key Island Giant Rat is known only from two skins and a skull, and virtually nothing is known of the species. Further research is needed in order fully to understand its natural history, evolution, and any threats facing it.

Bibliography. Bryant et al. (2011), Groves & Flannery (1994), Kennerley (2016a), Musser & Carleton (2005), Steppan & Schenk (2017).