The Solomon Islands rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion covering the Solomon Islands archipelago.
The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
The Spalacidae, or spalacids, are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. They are native to eastern Asia, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and southeastern Europe. It includes the blind mole-rats, bamboo rats, mole-rats, and zokors. This family represents the oldest split in the muroid superfamily, and comprises animals adapted to a subterranean way of life. These rodents were thought to have evolved adaptations to living underground independently until recent genetic studies demonstrated they form a monophyletic group. Members of the Spalacidae are often placed in the family Muridae along with all other members of the Muroidea.
The Malagasy rodents are the sole members of the subfamily Nesomyinae. These animals are the only native rodents of Madagascar, come in many shapes and sizes, and occupy a wide variety of ecological niches. There are nesomyines that resemble gerbils, rats, mice, voles, and even rabbits. There are arboreal, terrestrial, and semi-fossorial varieties.
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.
Batomys is a genus of rodent endemic to the Philippines. It has six extant described species.
The giant white-tailed rat is an Australian rodent native to tropical rainforest of north Queensland, with subspecies occurring in New Guinea and the Aru Islands. It is one of the largest rodents in Australia, reaching up to 1 kg in weight. It is grey-brown above, cream to white below, and has a long, naked tail of which the distal section is white.
Uromys is a genus of rodents found in Melanesia and Australia. They are known as the giant naked-tailed rats. There are eleven species in the genus, with the most recent described in 2017.
African vlei rats (Otomys), also known as groove-toothed rats, live in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Most species live in marshlands, grasslands, and similar habitats and feed on the vegetation of such areas, occasionally supplementing it with roots and seeds. The name "vlei" refers to the South African term for intermittent, seasonal, or perennial bodies of standing water.
The giant naked-tailed rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It lives in tropical forests, wetlands, and in degraded forests.
The masked white-tailed rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia, in north-east Queensland.
The emperor rat is a large species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. It is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN but is likely already extinct.
The Guadalcanal rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It was found only in the Solomon Islands. Since this species was collected between 1886 and 1888 it has not been seen again. It is possibly extinct.
The Solomon Archipelago is a terrestrial ecoregion and marine ecoregion in the Pacific Ocean. It includes the tropical ocean waters surrounding most of the Solomon Islands archipelago, and includes Bougainville Island and Buka Island of Papua New Guinea and their surrounding waters.
The Biak Island uromys or Biak giant rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is known only from a single specimen collected on the Indonesian island of Biak.
Emma's uromys or Emma's giant rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is only known from Owi Island, a small island of the size of about one square kilometer some 5km South of Biak Island, Indonesia.
The Great Key Island giant rat, or Great Key Island uromys is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is known only from Great Key Island, Indonesia.
The Vangunu giant rat, locally known as the vika, is a giant arboreal species of rodent in the family Muridae. The rat was discovered in the island of Vangunu in the Solomon Islands in 2015, after years of searching based on local stories, and described in 2017. It was identified as a new species on the basis of its skull, skeleton and a detailed DNA analysis. The single individual initially collected from a felled tree measured 46 cm (18 in) long, weighed between 0.5 and 1.0 kg and had orange-brown fur. Its diet is believed to include thick-shelled nuts like ngali nuts and coconuts, and probably fruits. The species is likely to be designated critically endangered, due to the small amount of forest habitat remaining on the island and ongoing logging. In 2021, the species was observed in the wild for the first time, with at least four individuals being observed via camera trap in Vangunu's last remaining lowland primary forest. They are highly threatened by proposed logging plans for their remaining habitat.
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 R. fuscipes group of the genus Rattus in the tribe Rattini. They are also found in parts of Southeast Asia.
