Polynesian Rat

Rattus exulans (Peale 1848) Polynesian

Rattus exulans (Peale, 1848) Polynesian rat—Tikus kecil Hoplopleura pacifica Ewing, 1924 Polyplax spinulosa (Burmeister, 1838) Sathrax durus Johnson, 1964

An annotated checklist of sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura) from domestic and wild mammals in Malaysia, with lists of hosts and pathogens

discussion

COMMENTS: Inadvertant human introduction responsible for most of the Pacific insular occurrences (see Roberts, 1991), and possibly for distribution outside of mainland SE Asia where species may have originated (Musser and Newcomb, 1983). Rattus exulans has traditionally been included within subgenus Rattus along with R. argentiventer, R. nitidus, R. norvegicus, R. rattus, and others which have, in the past, formed the core of that group (e. g., Ellerman, 1941; Misonne, 1969). Some electrophoretic and chromosomal data supported this allocation (Raman and Sharma, 1977; Chan, 1977; Chan et al., 1979), but morphological and other biochemical data suggested the species is distant from R. rattus and its close relatives (Gemmeke and Niethammer, 1984; Medway and Yong, 1976; Pasteur et al., 1982).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

distribution

DISTRIBUTION: E Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sundaic region (incl. Mentawai isls, and islands of Enggano, Nias, and Simeulule), Christmas Isl, Sulawesi, Philippines, Moluccas, Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sunda Isis), New Guinea Region, two islands off the coast of N and NE Australia (not on mainland), Micronesia, New Zealand, and Polynesia, including Hawaii and Easter Isl. Not recorded from Andaman or Nicobar isls, despite assertion of Wodzicki and Taylor (1984).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

discussion

COMMENT: Includes concolor (see Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951: 590), basilanus, calcis, leucophaetus, luteiventris, mayonicus, negrinus, ornatulus, pantarensis, querceti, vigoratus, vulcani (see Musser, 1977, Am. Mus. Novit., 2624: 12), micronesiensis (see Schwarz and Schwarz, 1967, Ann. Esc. Nac. Cienc. Biol. Mex., 14: 146), and bocourti (see Musser, 1970, Mammalia, 55: 489). Human introduction responsible for most of the Pacific insular occurrences (ACZ).

Order Rodentia (Part 5)