Himalayan Rat
Rattus pyctoris (Hodgson, 1845)
Also calledNepal-Ratte (deu) · Ni Jiashu (zho) · Rat pugiliste (fra) · krysa turkestanská (ces) · szczur himalajski (pol) · turkestaninrotta (fin) · Туркестанская крыса (rus) · Түркістан егеуқұйрығы (kaz) · ヒマラヤクマネズミ (jpn)
First described in: Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., [ser. 1] vol.15 p.267
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
distribution
Distribution: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Northern Myanmar.
Mammals of Myanmar: an annotated checklist
discussion
Discussion: Rattus norvegicus species group. Despite past use of rattoides Hodgson, 1845 (Caldarini et al., 1989; Corbet, 1978 c; Ellerman, 1961; Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951), it is preoccupied by rattoides Pictet and Pictet, 1844, a synonym of R. rattus (Schlitter and Thonglongya, 1971). The name turkestanicus (type-locality = Kyrgyzstan, Oshskaya Obl., Lenniskii p-h, Arslanbob) has generally replaced rattoides (Corbet and Hill, 1992; Musser and Carleton, 1993; Musser and Newcomb, 1985; Niethammer and Martens, 1975) for the species but should be abandoned for pyctoris, which is the oldest name (Musser and Carleton, 1993). Hodgson’s (1845) pyctoris has historically been treated as a synonym of either R. rattus (Ellerman, 1941) or R. nitidus (Corbet, 1978 c; Ellerman, 1961; Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951). Musser studied the holotype of pyctoris (BMNH 45.1.8.381), the skin and skull of a young adult. The skin is in poor condition, and posterior part of the cranium and posterior portions of the dentaries are missing. However, the skin is sufficiently intact to determine that the fur is shaggy and brown over the upperparts, in contrast to R. nitidus, which has dark grayish br
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
distribution
Distribution: Mountains of SE Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, E Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan (Kucheruk, 2000); EC Iran (NE Kerman Province; FMNH series); N Afghanistan (Hassinger, 1973; Niethammer and Martens, 1975; BMNH and FMNH specimens); N Pakistan (Akhtar, 1959; USNM material); N India (Agrawal, 2000; large series in BMNH, FMNH, and USNM); Nepal (Ellerman, 1961; Niethammer and Martens, 1975; BMNH, FMNH, and USNM specimens); and S China (Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guangdong; AMNH and FMNH material).
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
activity
Activity patterns. The Himalayan Rat might be nocturnal. It is terrestrial and builds nests in areas of dense ground cover.
Muridae
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Rattus pyctoris in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 4264918.