Indochinese Forest Rat

distribution

Distribution: Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Northeastern India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Laos, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and Northeastern Myanmar.

Mammals of Myanmar: an annotated checklist

discussion

Discussion: Rattus rattus species group. Usually listed as sikkimensis, which was described as a subspecies of R. rattus (Hinton, 1919 a), then arranged as a synonym of R. r. brunneusculus (Ellerman, 1961), later identified as R. sikkimensis (Musser and Newcomb, 1983; Musser and Heaney, 1985; Musser and Carleton, 1993), and discussed under R. remotus by Corbet and Hill (1992), who noted that remotus is an older name than sikkimensis. South Vietnamese samples have also been described under R. sladeni (Van Peenen et al., 1969), N Vietnamese series as R. koratensis (Dao, 1985), and Thai samples under R. koratensis and R. remotus (J. T. Marshall, Jr., 1977 a). The oldest name for the species is andamanensis, which Musser and Lunde (ms) determined by study of the holotype and large series (in USNM, KNMB, and ZSI) collected on the Andaman Isls. A multivariate analysis of morphometric traits has verified that the Andaman Isls populations and those on mainland Indochina are the same species (Musser and Lunde, ms). Corbet and Hill (1992: 344) included macmillani (Hinton, 1919) as a synonym with question, but the holotype is an example of Rattus tanezumi (Musser’s study of the holotype at BM

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

distribution

Distribution: S China (Yunnan, Guangxi, Fujian, islands of Hong Kong and Hainan), Vietnam (including four coastal islands; Kuznetsov, 2000, recorded as koratensis), Laos, Cambodia, Thailand (including Koh Klum off SE Thailand in the Gulf of Siam), C and N Burma, NE India (Sikkim, N West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya), Bhutan, and E Nepal. Not recorded from the mainland of peninsular Thailand south of Isthmus of Kra (10 EE, 30 ' N), but occurs on four islands (Koh Tau, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, and Koh Kra) off the coast well south of the Isthmus (see Musser and Heaney, 1985). Also on the Andaman Isls (islands of North Andaman, Interview, Middle Andaman, Long, Henry Lawrence, Havelock, South Andaman, and Little Andaman) and Car Nicobar, northernmost of the Nicobar Isls. Limits in NE India and Nepal unresolved. Distribution based on specimens examined by Musser).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

biology_ecology

Habitat. Various forest and forest-edge habitats and secondary and modified habitats at elevations up to 2000 m. The Indochinese Forest Rat apparently is also found in agricultural lands, scrubland, and around houses. Food and Feeding. No information. Breeding. No information. Activity patterns. Indochinese Forest Rats are nocturnal and highly arboreal. Movements, Home range and Social organization. Densities of the Indochinese Forest Rats increase with habitat complexity.

Muridae