Tateomys

The Great Sulawesi Shrew Rat ( Tateomys ) are a rodent species from the group of Altweltmäuse ( Murinae ). The genus includes two species.

The body length of the Great Sulawesi shrew rats is 11 to 14 centimeters, the tail measures 15 to 17 inches and the weight is 35 to 100 grams. The soft, dense fur is gray on the top, the bottom is white. The head is large, the muzzle is elongated, the front paws are big and strong.

These animals are endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. They inhabit moist, cool mountain forests in 2000-2300 meters above sea level. There are nocturnal animals, which apparently feed exclusively of earthworms.

System

The Great Sulawesi shrew rats are part of the Melasmothrix group, a small, living on Sulawesi radiation of Altweltmäuse.

The two types are

• Tateomys macrocercus and a small area in Central Sulawesi
• Tateomys rhinogradoides, also from the central Sulawesi.

Both species are known only by relatively few finds. About the level of risk can therefore not give an exact statements that IUCN lists both species under "too little data available " ( data deficient ).