The Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat or Ryukyu rat (''Diplothrix legata'') 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 n ...

in the family Muridae. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Diplothrix''. It is found only in the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

of Japan. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is temperate

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Conservation

The species is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, predation by feral cats (with studies finding that the rat contributed 23% of feral cat's diet on Amami-Oshima), and introduced nematode and helminth parasites.

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Muridae Rats of Asia Endemic mammals of Japan Endemic fauna of the Ryukyu Islands Mammals described in 1906 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Murinae-stub