Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat

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Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat
Crateromys australis drawing.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Genus: Crateromys
Species:
C. australis
Binomial name
Crateromys australis
Musser, Heaney & Rabor, 1985
Distribution Crateromys.png
Range in pink

The Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat, Dinagat crateromys or Dinagat cloud rat (Crateromys australis) is a species of cloud rat in the family Muridae. It is one of the eight cloud rats found only in the Philippines, and is specifically endemic to Dinagat Island. It is known locally as hawili. [2] A single specimen was discovered in 1975 by Dioscoro S. Rabor and his team during a scientific survey in Dinagat. The natural habitat is tropical lowland forests, which are facing environmental threats. Habitat loss is caused by progressive deforestation from heavy logging and chromite mining in the area. Almost 40 years after the original discovery, five live specimens were discovered by Milada Řeháková, Václav Řehák and William L.R. Oliver, in 2012. [3]

Contents

Discovery and rediscovery

The Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat was first seen in 1975 in Balitbiton, Loreto Municipality, Surigao del Norte Province, Dinagat island during a scientific faunal survey. The only specimen (now the holotype) was collected by Dioscoro S. Rabor of the University of the Philippines on 16 May 1975. It was found in a disturbed lowland forest, near a logging road. It was stuffed to preserve its skin, cranium, mandibles and baculum (the penile bone). It was deposited in the American Museum of Natural History. Rabor, with Guy G. Musser of the American Museum of Natural History and Lawrence R. Heaney of the University of Michigan, reported the full description after 10 years, in 1985. [4] (The same survey also resulted in the discovery of other new species of rat, the Dinagat moonrat, Podogymnura aureospinula and later, the Dinagat hairy-tailed rat, Batomys russatus.) The main reason the species is hard to observe is that it is nocturnal and arboreal. [5] No other specimen had been known until 2012. In January 2012, Czech zoologists noticed a living specimen in a semi-protected watershed reserve site in central-north Dinagat. The team led by Milada Řeháková and her husband made a video film of it. [3]

Řeháková had been officially investigating the Philippine tarsier Tarsius syrichta on Bohol for three years, during 2009-2012. Supported by the Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc., she extended her research in Dinagat for its threatened and genetically isolated Philippine tarsier populations. She surveyed the Loreto Municipality for 10 days, between 5 and 15 January 2012. She failed to find any tarsier. [6] However, using vocalisation records, her team detected the rustling movements and calls of a cloud rat, which were distinct from those of tarsiers. For three nights, as dusk fell (local time 17:55–18:35 hr), they recorded the same sounds. On 8 January (18:05 h) the actual cloud rat was spotted, and was documented using still and video cameras. The rat fled when flashes were on. [7] It was first seen by her husband, Václav Řehák. [8] It was again seen on 11 January around the same time in the evening but at a little distance from the previous location. It was again seen on 14 January at the original location. They presented their findings at the Wildlife Conservation Society of the Philippines symposium on 17–20 April 2012. Their technical report was only on 20 June 2015 in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. [7]

Etymology

The species name australis is derived from a Latin word meaning "southern". It is given the name because it is the only species under the genus Crateromys to be found in the southern Philippines. [4]

Description

The original specimen was an adult male. It is medium in size among the species of Crateromys , and measures 26.5 cm (10.4 in) from head to body rear. The tail is longer than the body, measuring 28 cm (11 in). In contrast to other species, it has tawny and orange coloured fur, lacking the colour patterns on its body, its ears are dark in colour, its head lacks crest of fur, and the tail is striped in three colours with short and stiff hairs. The head is uniformly coloured but is broken around the eyes, where the colour appears in rings of darkly pigmented skin surrounded by short, pale-brown hairs. The underfur on the back (dorsum) is gray and coarse. Short black hairs start from the middle of the dorsum and gradually disappear on all sides. The ears are round and heavily pigmented. Short brown hairs grow on the top half of each ear. The throat and belly region are bright orange-brown, and uniform throughout the body. The scrotum is covered by gold-coloured hairs. Each leg is about 5.4 cm (2.1 in) long. [4]

Conservation

Since its discovery in 1975 and until its rediscovery in 2012, only one male specimen was available, even after several expeditions in Dinagat. The habitat in Dinagat is a Mineral Reserve under the Philippines Republic Act No. 391 issued in 1939 by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under the then-colonial government of the United States. As a result, most of the forest is logged down by mining companies. Many initiatives to change the law have been made but all failed as the mining industry controls various political dynasties in the Philippines. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarsier</span> Family of dry nosed primates

Tarsiers are haplorhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was once more widespread, all of its species living today are found in Maritime Southeast Asia, specifically the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine tarsier</span> Species of primate

The Philippine tarsier, known locally as mawumag in Cebuano and other Visayan languages, and magô in Waray, is a species of tarsier endemic to the Philippines. It is found in the southeastern part of the archipelago, particularly on the islands of Bohol, Samar and Leyte. It is a member of the approximately 45-million-year-old family Tarsiidae, whose name is derived from its elongated "tarsus" or ankle bone. Formerly a member of the genus Tarsius, it is now listed as the only member of the genus Carlito, a new genus named after the conservationist Carlito Pizarras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilin Island cloudrunner</span> Species of rodent

The Ilin Island cloudrunner is a cloud rat known from a single specimen purchased on Ilin Island in the Philippines. It is called siyang by the Taubuwid Mangyan. It is a fluffy-coated, bushy-tailed rat and may have emerged from tree hollows at night to feed on fruits and leaves. The specimen, collected on 4 April 1953, was presented to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. The island's forests have been destroyed by human activity. The cloudrunner is among the 25 “most wanted lost” species that are the focus of Global Wildlife Conservation’s “Search for Lost Species” initiative. As there in no proof that the single specimen originated on Ilin Island, searches are now focussed on nearby Mindoro. Hope that it may be rediscovered have prompted IUCN to improve its status from possibly Extinct (EX?) in 1994 to Critically Endangered (CR) in 1996 before the current Data Deficient (DD) from 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinagat Islands</span> Province in Caraga, Philippines

Dinagat Islands, officially the Province of Dinagat Islands, is an island province in the Caraga region of the Philippines, located on the south side of Leyte Gulf. The island of Leyte is to its west, across Surigao Strait, and Mindanao is to its south. Its main island, Dinagat, is about 60 kilometres (37 mi) from north to south.

<i>Batomys</i> Genus of rodents

Batomys is a genus of rodent endemic to the Philippines. It has six extant described species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloud rat</span> Tribe of mammals

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panay cloudrunner</span> Species of rodent

The Panay cloudrunner is the second-largest cloud rat, a squirrel-like rodent that is found on the island of Panay in the Philippines. It is the most endangered rodent species in Panay, and one of the only few known cloud rat species in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrewlike rat</span> Genus of rodents

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzon montane forest mouse</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large Mindoro forest mouse</span> Species of rodent

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.

<i>Crateromys</i> Genus of rodents

Crateromys is a genus of rodent, native to the Philippines, in the family Muridae. It contains four species extant species, and one extinct species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant bushy-tailed cloud rat</span> Species of rodent

The giant bushy-tailed cloud rat or Luzon bushy-tailed cloud rat is a large, endangered species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is only found in pine and mossy forest at altitudes of 2,000–2,740 metres (6,560–8,990 ft) in the Central Cordillera of Luzon, the Philippines. Relatively little is known about its behavior, but it is nocturnal, mainly arboreal and feeds on various types of vegetation.

<i>Phloeomys</i> Genus of rodents

Phloeomys, the slender-tailed cloud rats, is a genus of large rodents in the family Muridae. Both species in this genus are endemic to the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Although their tail is covered by hairs, it is considerably less dense and shorter than in the rarer bushy-tailed cloud rats that also inhabit the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Luzon giant cloud rat</span> Species of rodent

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<i>Podogymnura truei</i> Species of mammal

Podogymnura truei, also known as the Mindanao gymnure, Mindanao moonrat, or Mindanao wood shrew, is a mammal of the family Erinaceidae. It is endemic to the Mindanao islands of the Philippines. Erinaceidae is a family of small mammals that include the gymnures, also known as the silky furred moonrats, and the hedgehogs. Animals belonging to this family are significant because they are among the oldest known placental mammals that are alive. Gymnures are relatives of hedgehogs but lack the prickly spines. Four species are categorized in the genus Podogymnura: P. aureospinula, P. intermedia, P. minima, and P. truei. All share a close resemblance to the moonrat Echinosorex gymnura, which is commonly found on the Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsulas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine tube-nosed fruit bat</span> Species of bat

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Dioscoro Siarot Rabor, also known as Joe Rabor, was a Filipino ornithologist, zoologist, and conservationist. Known as the "Father of Philippine Wildlife Conservation", he led more than 50 wildlife expeditions in the Philippines, authored 87 scientific papers and articles, and described 69 new bird taxa and numerous mammal species.

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Lawrence Richard Heaney is an American mammalogist, ecologist and biogeographer. His research focus is the mammals of the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mindanao–Eastern Visayas rain forests</span>

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References

  1. Kennerley, R. (2017). "Crateromys australis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T5499A22415226. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T5499A22415226.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-08-07. Retrieved 2017-08-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. 1 2 Hance, Jeremy (17 April 2012). "Two-foot-long cloud rat rediscovered after missing for forty years in the Philippines". Mongabay. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Musser, G.G.; Heaney, L.R.; Rabor, D.S. (1985). "Philippine rats: Description of a new species of Crateromys from Dinagat Island". American Museum Novitates (2821): 1–25. hdl:2246/5231.
  5. "Dinagat bushy-tailed Cloud Rat (Crateromys australis)". EDGE. The Zoological Society of London. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  6. "Feared extinct, large rat species 'rediscovered' on Dinagat Island". GMA News Online. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Řeháková, Milada; Řehák, Václav; Oliver, William L.R. (2015). "Rediscovery of the Dinagat Bushy-tailed Cloud Rat Crateromys australis (Musser, Heaney & Rabor, 1985) (Mammalia: Rodentia: Muridae) from Dinagat Island, Philippines". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 7 (8): 7428–7435. doi: 10.11609/JoTT.o4226.7428-35 .
  8. Milada, Řehák. "A lost species was rediscovered on Dinagat Island, Philippines". The Tarsius Project. Retrieved 21 November 2015.

Literature