Rattini

Last updated

Rattini
Temporal range: Early Pliocene - Recent
Rattus lutreolus, Swamp Rat 05.jpg
Australian swamp rat (Rattus lutreolus)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Subfamily: Murinae
Tribe: Rattini
Burnett, 1830
Genera

See text

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 (genus Rattus ), several species of which have been introduced worldwide.

Contents

Taxonomy

They are thought to be the second-most basal member of the Murinae despite their high modern diversity, with only the Phloeomyini being more basal than them. [1] [2]

The genus Micromys was previously classified in a polyphyletic division also containing Hapalomys , Chiropodomys , and Vandeleuria , but phylogenetic evidence supports it forming a sister group to the rest of the Rattini. It has been debated over whether it represents its own tribe (Micromyini) or a basal member of the Rattini, but the American Society of Mammalogists classifies it within the Rattini based on a 2019 study. [1] [2] [3]

Distribution

They are mostly found throughout Asia, primarily in the tropics and subtropics, but with a few genera such as Rattus , Micromys (if considered a part of Rattini) and Nesokia ranging north to temperate regions or west to arid regions. In addition, many species in the genus Rattus are found throughout New Guinea and Australia, making them the only native rodents to the region outside of the Hydromyini. Only one species ( Micromys minutus , if included) ranges throughout Europe, and another ( Nesokia indica ) ranges into northern Egypt. [4] Several Rattus species have also been introduced worldwide, and in some cases have become invasive species that have led to the extinction of many animals and plants. [5]

Within Asia, the Rattini reach their highest diversity in the tropics of Southeast Asia, especially in the Philippines and the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Species

Species in the tribe include: [1] [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Rattus</i> Genus of rodents

Rattus is a genus of muroid rodents, all typically called rats. However, the term rat can also be applied to rodent species outside of this genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murinae</span> Subfamily of rodents

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.

<i>Maxomys</i> Genus of rodents

Maxomys is a genus of rodents, widespread in Southeast Asia. They are mid-sized rodents, similar to rats, that live on the ground of tropical rainforests. There they build nests, padded with fallen leaves from trees. They feed on roots, fallen fruit, and other plants, as well as insects. All species are shy and avoid food from humans.

Sarcocystis is a genus of parasitic Apicomplexan alveolates. Species in this genus infect reptiles, birds and mammals. The name is derived from Greek: sarkos = flesh and kystis = bladder.

Halmaheramys bokimekot, the spiny Boki Mekot rat, is a rodent found on the island of Halmahera in the Molucca archipelago, whose discovery was announced in 2013. This is the only locality where this particular species has been found. H. bokimekot was confirmed as a new species through probabilistic methodologies applied to morphological and molecular data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulawesi montane rain forests</span> Ecoregion in Sulawesi, Indonesia

The Sulawesi montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Indonesia. It includes the highlands of Sulawesi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydromyini</span> Tribe of rodents

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pagès, Marie; Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Chaval, Yannick; Mortelliti, Alessio; Nicolas, Violaine; Wells, Konstans; Michaux, Johan R.; Lazzari, Vincent (2016). "Molecular phylogeny of South-East Asian arboreal murine rodents". Zoologica Scripta. 45 (4): 349–364. doi:10.1111/zsc.12161. ISSN   1463-6409. S2CID   86285898.
  2. 1 2 Rowe, Kevin C.; Reno, Michael L.; Richmond, Daniel M.; Adkins, Ronald M.; Steppan, Scott J. (April 2008). "Pliocene colonization and adaptive radiations in Australia and New Guinea (Sahul): Multilocus systematics of the old endemic rodents (Muroidea: Murinae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 47 (1): 84–101. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.01.001. ISSN   1055-7903. PMID   18313945.
  3. 1 2 Rowe, Kevin C.; Achmadi, Anang S.; Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Schenk, John J.; Steppan, Scott J.; Esselstyn, Jacob A. (2019). "Oceanic islands of Wallacea as a source for dispersal and diversification of murine rodents". Journal of Biogeography. 46 (12): 2752–2768. doi:10.1111/jbi.13720. ISSN   1365-2699. S2CID   208583483.
  4. 1 2 Database, Mammal Diversity (2021-11-06), Mammal Diversity Database, doi:10.5281/zenodo.5651212 , retrieved 2021-12-11
  5. Harper, Grant A.; Bunbury, Nancy (2015-01-01). "Invasive rats on tropical islands: Their population biology and impacts on native species". Global Ecology and Conservation. 3: 607–627. doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2015.02.010 . ISSN   2351-9894.