The Sahyadris forest rat (''Rattus satarae'') is a species of rat belonging to 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 native to the northern Western Ghats in India where it is split between three regions, Satara in Maharashtra, the

Nilgiri mountains The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

in Tamil Nadu and

Kodagu district Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

in Karnataka.

Vulnerability

''R. satarae'' is listed as vulnerable by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

due to it being restricted to less than 2,000 km² of forest habitat that remains. The locations it is found in are highly fragmented and it is vulnerable to changes in its habitat. The species is facing a decline in the quality of its habitat and the number of mature individuals in the population. It is highly sensitive to changes in its habitat. The main threats faced by the species include loss of forests to plantations,

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

, pesticide use, and planting of exotic species.

Habitat

The species has only been seen in the moist deciduous and evergreen forests of the northern Western Ghats are of India, between 700 and 2,150 m in altitude. It lives almost exclusively in nests or burrows in the middle or high canopy, only occasionally going to the ground near the base of a tree or vine. It eats fruits and insects.

Appearance

''R. satarae'' has a long, soft coat with a golden brown back and white underside. Its tail is very long. It was originally described as a subspecies of the

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

(''Rattus rattus'') due to its similar appearance. However, DNA evidence has shown that they are two distinct species with no interbreeding despite them occupying the same habitat. Their similarities are thought to be due to

convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen * "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that united the four Wei ...

as a result of sharing the same

ecological niche In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition. Three variants of ecological niche are described by It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (for ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2123526 Rattus Rats of Asia Rodents of India Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Vulnerable fauna of Asia Mammals described in 1918 Taxa named by Martin Hinton