New Guinean mouse bandicoot

The mouse bandicoot ( Microperoryctes ) are a genus of the group of New Guinea bandicoots ( Peroryctinae ). There are rainforest dwellers from New Guinea, is known about the very little.

Among the common features of the mouse bandicoot include the relatively small size, the pointed snout, small ears and a long, soft fur. These animals inhabit the bottom of the rain forests of New Guinea at altitudes up to 4500 meters. About their life little is known: they are likely to be omnivorous, feeding on fruits and small animals, they are likely to live solitary and save as resting places nests in the root zone of the trees. Females with one to three pups were found almost throughout the year, which are the only indications of the reproduction.

Also on the population size or the level of danger can be to most types make no details.

The types

• The Actual mouse bandicoot ( Microperoryctes murina ) reaches a body length between 15 and 17 centimeters and a tail length of around 11 centimeters. So far, only three copies in the Weyland Mountains found in western New Guinea. Their fur is usually uniformly colored gray, possibly the species is partially digging under the ground.

• Microperoryctes aplini was described in 2003 as a separate species. With 14 to 16 centimeters, it is still somewhat smaller than the real thing mouse bandicoot, from which it differs by a black back stripes and a white tail tip. Animals of this species were found on the Vogelkop peninsula in the far west of New Guinea.

• The Mura - bandicoot ( Microperoryctes papuensis ) is slightly larger with 18 to 20 centimeters in body length and up to 180 grams of weight. The coat of this kind is dark gray, the back and the face they have conspicuous black stripes. Animals of this species were found at altitudes from 1200 to 2600 meters in the south-eastern New Guinea.

• The long-tailed bandicoot ( Microperoryctes longicauda ) is a body length 25-29 centimeters and a weight of up to 670 grams of the largest representative of its genus. Its coat is reddish brown or light brown, some animals have along the back, on the flanks or over the eyes black stripes. It occurs at altitudes of up to 4500 meters in the central mountains of New Guinea. Microperoryctes ornata is sometimes, but usually classified as a separate species as a subspecies of the Long-tailed nose Beutler, the differences are especially pronounced in the stripes on the side flanks.