Sikkim rat
Rattus andamanensis is a domestic rat very similar members of this genus in the mountain rainforests of Southeast Asia. This type is often more than R. sikkimensis ( Musser & Newcomb, 1983) and R. Remotus ( Robinson & Kloss, 1914; eg on Ko Samui) described. Very little is known about their ecology and it is not described as a pest.
Features
Rattus andamanensis is a relatively large rat with a head -body length from 12.8 to 18.5 inches and a tail length from 17.5 to 22.2 inches with a weight of 12-155 grams. The long and thick coat on his back is colored in various shades of brown and consists of a mixture as brown and schwarzspitzigen hair with single long black hair along most of the center line. This differs from other species of rats, in which black hair maximum in the region of the abdomen are. The peritoneum white to beige and very sharply separated from the coat on his back, individual hair regions form by their gray hair approaches light gray spots. The tail is longer than the rest of the body, he is colored uniformly dark brown. The feet are dark brown on the top. The hind feet to a length 32 to 34 mm, the ears, a length of 20 to 25 millimeters.
The skull is well built and has a broad snout, but a relatively small tympanic bladder. The molars are large and strong.
Dissemination
This rat is found in Southeast Asian highland areas. The distribution area extends from Nepal in the west, Bhutan, the north-eastern Indian regions of Sikkim, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya and the South China ( provinces of Yunnan, Guǎngxī, Fujian and the islands of Hainan and Hong Kong ) to the South China Sea to the east. It extends further to the south over central and northern Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. Furthermore, this species is found on some islands ( Ko Tao, Ko Phangan, Ko Samui and Ko Kra ) in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Habitat
R. andamanensis lives in evergreen montane rain forests, but sometimes comes close to human settlements, for example in bamboo groves and gardens, before. You will not penetrate into buildings.
System
Rattus andamanensis is classified as a separate species within the rat ( genus Rattus) and from there to the house rat (Rattus rattus ) and other species in the Rattus group. The first scientific description comes from Edward Blyth from the year 1827.
Threats and conservation
The species is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN) due to the large distribution area and the high population numbers and the good adaptability to habitat changes as not at risk ( " least concern "). Threats to the stocks are not known.