Biak giant rat

The Biak - giant rat ( Uromys boeadii ) is a poorly understood rodent of the genus mosaic -tailed giant rat. It is endemic to the island of Biak. Whether it occurs also on the neighboring island Supiori is unclear. The specific epithet honors the Indonesian Bapak Boeadi zoologists.

Features

The only known specimen has a head-body length of 255 mm, a tail length of 235 mm, a Hinterfußlänge of 62 mm and the ears length of 25 mm. The type looks the Bismarck Giant Rat ( Uromys neobritannicus ) from the island of New Britain very similar, but the belly is mostly brown and on the chest there is a small white spots. In addition, the golden guard hairs and dark eye circles that characterize the Bismarck Giant Rat missing.

Habitat and behavior

The Biak - giant rat inhabits tropical moist forests. About their life nothing is known.

Status

The holotype, an adult male was collected on 23 March 1963 by Peter Temple - Smith 25 kilometers northeast of the town of Biak at an altitude of 65 m. Three subsequent expeditions on Biak brought no results. During an expedition to Biak and Supiori in September 1992, Tim Flannery was also able to demonstrate not have a copy. The IUCN classifies the species in the category of extinction ( critically endangered ). The main hazard is considered deforestation. 50 percent of former forest land on Biak has gone so far lost.