Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat
The Dinagat - Borken rat ( Crateromys australis ) is a poorly understood rodent of the genus Borken climbers of the Philippine island of Dinagat. She was only known from the holotype since 1975, until it was rediscovered in 2012.
Features
The type specimen has a head -body length of 265 mm, a tail length of 281 mm, a Hinterfußlänge of 43 mm and a skull length of 57.3 mm. The Dinagat - Borken rat is a large, arboreal rat with a rather long, hairy tail. The skin of the top is long and rough, on the bottom it is thin and short. The top is brown and the underside is pale orange-brown. The tail is three-colored; the tail is light brown like the rest of the body, the upper half of the tail is black, bottom, including the tail, is white. The Schwanzbehaarung is short and hard. The not very large ears are dark. The top of the short, wide feet is covered with dark brown hair, the underside is glabrous.
Habitat
The holotype was found in a disturbed lowland rainforest near a wood logging road. Probably the species is dependent on primary rainforests.
Status
The Dinagat - Borken rat is considered extremely rare. In May 1975 began the Philippine zoologist Dioscoro S. Rabor at Balitbiton, community Loreto, on the island of Dinagat a copy. In several short expeditions on Dinagat no other copy was detected in the subsequent period. When questioned on the neighboring island of Siargao in 1990, locals reported a tree-dwelling species of rat that is to see the Dinagat - Borken rat similar. Therefor, there is no acknowledgment. During an expedition on Dinagat in January 2012 succeeded the Czech zoologist Milada Řeháková -Petru and her husband Václav Řehák, initially perceive the calls of this nature and a week later to film a copy.
Dinagat is particularly vulnerable to the chromite - promotion that prevails in ultrabasic areas. In addition, deforestation and the fighting between Philippine government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have a negative impact on the habitat of these species.