Vangunu giant rat | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Muridae |
Genus: | Uromys |
Species: | U. vika |
Binomial name | |
Uromys vika Lavery & Judge, 2017 | |
The Vangunu giant rat (Uromys vika), locally known as the vika, is a giant arboreal species of rodent in the family Muridae. [2] [3] The rat was discovered in the island of Vangunu in the Solomon Islands in 2015, [4] after years of searching based on local stories, and described in 2017. [5] It was identified as a new species on the basis of its skull, skeleton and a detailed DNA analysis. [2] The single individual initially collected from a felled tree ( Dillenia salomonensis ) measured 46 cm (18 in) long, weighed between 0.5 and 1.0 kg (1.1 and 2.2 lb) and had orange-brown fur. [2] Its diet is believed to include thick-shelled nuts like ngali nuts and coconuts, [4] and probably fruits. [2] The species is likely to be designated critically endangered, due to the small amount of forest habitat (about 80 km2 (31 sq mi)) remaining on the island and ongoing logging. [2] [3] 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. [6]
The Solomon Islands rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion covering the Solomon Islands archipelago.
Vangunu is an island, part of the New Georgia Islands in the Solomon Islands. It is located between New Georgia and Nggatokae Island. To the north and east of the island is Marovo Lagoon. The island has an area of 509 square kilometres (197 sq mi).
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.
The Ugi naked-tailed rat is a poorly known and possibly extinct species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is known from a single specimen collected on Ugi Island in the Solomon Islands.
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 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 mimic tree rat, rock-dwelling giant rat, or rock-dwelling rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
The Vanikoro flying fox, also known locally as the basapine, is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae. It has only been found in the Vanikoro island group located in the southern Solomon Islands. The species as a whole was originally known from just a few specimens collected sometime before 1930 but following surveys conducted on the island in the early 1990s did not detect this species again causing the Vanikoro flying fox to be listed as extinct. However, the species was rediscovered by a survey conducted in late 2014 which indicated a population in the high hundreds or low thousands and reported all observations.
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 king rat, or rat king, is a large species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Like the two other species of rodent in Guadalcanal, it is placed in the genus Uromys. It lives in trees and is larger than Uromys porculus but smaller than Uromys imperator.
The New Georgian monkey-faced bat or New Georgian flying monkey is a recently described species of megabat endemic to the New Georgia and Vangunu Islands. It is presumably extinct on Kolombangara Island, and the remaining populations on other islands are threatened by habitat loss and hunting. Consequently, it is considered vulnerable by the IUCN. In 2013, Bat Conservation International listed this species as one of the 35 species of its worldwide priority list of conservation.
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 greater monkey-faced bat or greater flying monkey is a megabat endemic to Solomon Islands, Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea, and nearby small islands. It is listed as a critically endangered species and the population is decreasing. It is the largest monkey-faced bat.
The Sahyadris forest rat is a species of rat belonging to the family Muridae. It is native to the northern Western Ghats in India where it is split between three regions, Satara in Maharashtra, the Nilgiri mountains in Tamil Nadu and Kodagu district in Karnataka.
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.