Buka Island solomys

Solomys spriggsarum is an extinct rodent of the genus naked-tailed rats. It has been known only by subfossiles bone material that has been promoted on the island of Buka at the northern end of the Solomon Islands chain to light. The specific epithet honors the Australian anthropologist and archaeologist Matthew Spriggs (born 1954 ) and his wife, the linguist Ruth Saovana - Spriggs.

The holotype consists of a right maxilla fragment including most of the zygomatic plate and a portion of the right palatine bone. Additional material includes 62 right and 69 left lower jaw fragments and 14 left and 17 right maxillary fragments. Solomys spriggsarum reached approximately the same size as the recent kind Solomys ponceleti of Bougainville. Of the other species, Solomys - Solomys different spriggsarum by the simpler molars, by larger bumps on the lower incisors as well as the extended backwards palate bone. Skull and jaw were similar in size at Solomys ponceleti.

Bone and jaw fragments of Solomys spriggsarum were found quite frequently in the Abri the fossil deposit Kilu on the island of Buka. The material is dated to 6600-7900 years. However, some authors also hold a Aussterbezeitpunkt for the period after the birth of Christ for possible Probably died this way due to the predation by dogs and pigs as well as by competition with other species from rats. The subfossil remains of introduced species have been discovered in rock stories (1860 yBP ) are dated to approximately 90 AD.

Although S. spriggsarum and S. ponceleti were about equal in size, suggested the morphology of the molars and the skull suggests that both taxa had different lifestyles and different food favorite. The elongated rostrum of S. spriggsarum leads to the assumption that this type had a more ground-dwelling lifestyle, while S. ponceleti rather lives on trees.