Sahyadris Forest Rat

distribution

Distribution: Endemic to the Western Ghats and occurring in tropical evergreen rain forest. Records are from N part of the Western Ghats at and near the type locality (Hinton, 1918; Tiwari et al., 1971) and Nilgiri Hills (Tamil Nadu State) in the south (Verneau et al., 1997), which approximates the extent of tropical evergreen rain forest along the SW mountainous margin of SW peninsular India (see Morley, 2000: 162); altitudinal range, 1500 - 2150 m (from data with specimens). Although wet, tropical forests once occurred along the length of the Western Ghats (Subramanyam and Nayer, 1974), they are presently reduced to small, isolated patches through conversion to agriculture and plantations (Chandrasekar-Rao and Sunquist, 1996); these forest islands between Satara region and Nilgiri Hills probably also contain R. satarae.

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

materials_examined

Type Locality: SW Peninsular India, E margin of Western Ghats (= Sahyadris), Maharashtra State, Satara Dist., Ghatmatha (Crestline), 2000 ft (610 m).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

activity

Activity patterns. The Sahyadris Forest Rat is nocturnal. It is predominantly arboreal and occasionally terrestrial, only occasionally coming down to bases of trees and vines. It spends most of its time in the canopy, living in nests or burrows in middle or high canopies.

Muridae

biology_ecology

Habitat. Pristine montane moist deciduous and evergreen forests at elevations of 700 - 2150 m.

Muridae