The Philippine archipelago is one of the world's great reservoirs of biodiversity and endemism. The archipelago includes over 7000 islands, and a total land area of 300,780 km².
The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families except the Cricetidae and Muridae, and is larger than all mammal orders except the bats and the remainder of the rodents.
John Whitehead was an English explorer, naturalist and professional collector of natural history specimens in Southeast Asia. He is the first documented person to reach the summit of Mount Kinabalu: this was in 1888, after annual attempts from 1885.
Batomys is a genus of rodent endemic to the Philippines. It has six extant described species.
The cloud rats or cloudrunners are a tribe (Phloeomyini) of arboreal and nocturnal herbivorous rodents endemic to the cloud forests of the Philippines. They belong to the family Muridae and include five genera: Batomys, Carpomys, Crateromys, Musseromys, and Phloeomys. They range in size from as large as 50 cm (20 in) to as small as 74 mm (2.9 in). Cloud rats are threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting. Several species are endangered or critically endangered.
The shrewlike rats, genus Rhynchomys, also known as the tweezer-beaked rats are a group of unusual Old World rats found only on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They look a great deal like shrews and are an example of convergent evolution. Shrewlike rats evolved to be vermivores (worm-eaters) and insectivores feeding on soft-bodied invertebrates associated with leaf litter.
The Luzon montane forest mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae, from the genus Apomys. It occurs only in the Philippines, where it has been found on the large northern island Luzon. It is most closely related to the large Mindoro forest mouse, which occurs on Mindoro. There may be another related species in the Sierra Madre, but this species is yet undescribed. The Luzon montane forest mouse is a relatively large, ground-dwelling rat with a tail that is quite short for its genus.
The large Mindoro forest mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae, from the genus Apomys. It is found only in the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is a large mouse with large feet, a long tail and an elongated snout which is morphologically unique within its genus. It is covered in soft fur which is mostly dark brown in colour. Its closest relative is thought to be the Luzon montane forest mouse, based on genetic and morphological similarities.
Archboldomys, the shrew-mice, are a genus of rodents in the family Muridae. They are carnivores that feed on invertebrates much like shrews do. An apparently smaller relatives of the true shrew-rats Chrotomys and Rhynchomys, Archboldomys are somewhat convergent to the more distantly related Crunomys.
The Philippine hawk-owl is a species complex of owls in the family Strigidae. They are all endemic to the Philippines.
A shrew rat or shrew-rat is not a true rat but a rodent that resembles a shrew in physical form and, presumably, lifestyle. There are twelve known species distributed across seven known genera, all from island southeast Asia, specifically the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and several islands of the Philippines:
In mammals, ungual tufts are tufts of hairs at the base of claws of the forefeet and hindfeet. Their presence has been used as a character in cladistic studies of the Cricetidae, a large family of rodents.
The Kalinga shrew mouse is a rodent of the genus Soricomys found in the northern province of Kalinga, island of Luzon, in the northern Philippines.
Sibuyan striped shrew rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. The holotype was collected in 1992; however, it wasn't formally described until 2005.
Soricomys, the shrew-mice, are a genus of rodents in the family Muridae. They are carnivores that feed on invertebrates much like shrews do. An apparently smaller relatives of the true shrew-rats Chrotomys and Rhynchomys, Soricomys are somewhat convergent to the more distantly related Crunomys.
Danilo S. Balete, also known as Danny Balete, was a Filipino zoologist and biologist. His is known for his work on the Philippines' endemic mammal species. He pursued the question of what determines species diversity. The research by Balete and his team overturned previously held notions that diversity decreased in mountainous regions, showing that harsh environments could generate, rather than suppress, species diversity.
Hydromyini is a very large, diverse tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. They are the dominant native rodents in Australasia and one of only two native rodent groups there, the other being the genus Rattus in the tribe Rattini. They are also found in parts of Southeast Asia.
Rattini is a very large, diverse tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. They are found throughout Asia and Australasia, with a few species ranging into Europe and northern Africa. The most well-known members of this group are the true rats, several species of which have been introduced worldwide.
