Rattus salocco Tate & Archbold 1935

692.

South-eastern Xanthurus Rat

Rattus salocco

French: Rat du Salokko / German: Sidostliche Gelbschwanzratte / Spanish: Rata de cola dorada suroriental

Taxonomy

. Rattus salocco Tate & Archbold, 1935,

“Tanke Salocco, Mengkoka Range, southeastern

Celebes [

= Sulawesi, Indonesia], 1500 meters.”

Rattus salocco is in the R. xanthurus species group within Rattus, apparently being most closely related to R.marmosurus. Monotypic.

Distribution. Tanke Salokko and the Mowewe lowlands on the SE peninsula of Sulawesi.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 211 mm, tail 265 mm, hindfoot 39 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The South-eastern Xanthurus Rat is large, with long andfairly soft pelage and long black guard hairs, but not as long as on the Northeastern Xanthurus Rat (R. xanthurus) and the Marmoset Xanthurus Rat (R. marmosurus). Dorsum is brownish black, with brown-tipped hairs; venteris bufty white, fading to yellowish on neck and chin; and ventral pelage is not strongly demarcated from dorsal pelage. Feet are dark dorsally, with white digits and undersides. Ears are small. Tail is ¢.126% of head-body length, almost naked, and dark at base, being white for the final two-thirds. Skull has short basilar length, large bulla, wide molars, and narrow zygomatic plate. There are two pairs of mammae: two pectoral and two inguinal.

Habitat. Tropical lowland evergreen and montane rain forests at elevations of 300-1500 m. The South-eastern Xanthurus Rat might also be found in disturbed habitat.

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 Southeastern Xanthurus Rat has a fairly limited distribution but is only known from three speciments; it might may be more widely distributed than currently known. More research is needed to fully understand its natural history, taxonomy, and conservation threats.

Bibliography. Musser (2014), Musser & Carleton (2005), Musser & Holden (1991), Musser, Lunde & Aplin (2008), Pages et al. (2010), Steppan & Schenk (2017), Tate (1936).