The Nillu rat or Sri Lankan mountain rat (''Rattus montanus'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the family

Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. The name Muridae come ...

. It is found only in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

where it is known as நில்ளு எலி (Nillu Eli) in Tamil and නෙලූ මීයා(Nelu Meeya) in Sinhalese.

Range

The Nillu rat is only found in Knuckles,

Horton Plains Horton Plains National Park ( si, හෝර්ටන් තැන්න ජාතික උද්‍යානය, Hortan Thanna Jathika Udyanaya) is a national park in the central highlands of Sri Lanka that was designated in 1988. It is locate ...

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( si, නුවර එළිය ; ta, நுவரெலியா) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrativ ...

, and

Ohiya Ohiya ( si, ඔහිය) is a rural village located in Badulla District of Uva Province, Sri Lanka. It is much closer to the Horton Plains National Park. The picturesque Colombo -Badulla Railway runs through Ohiya. Ohiya is in the Welimada Div ...

in the central highlands of Central and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka.

Description

Head and body length is 16–17 cm. Tail is 20–22 cm. Grayish brown with a reddish tinge dorsally, darkest along back. Underparts gray grading into whitish. Chin and upper throat white. Tail blackish brown with fine dark hairs. Long, shiny black whiskers. Fur soft and long, up to 45mm in length in back. Feet covered with short hairs.

References

Rattus Rats of Asia Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka Rodents of Sri Lanka Endangered fauna of Asia Mammals described in 1932 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rattus-stub