The Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat (''Batomys hamiguitan'') is one of five

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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

in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Batomys. It is in the diverse family

Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. ...

. This species is found only in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. is a yellow-brown animal with a long furry tail, weighs about 175 grams, and is related to several other species known in Central

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

, Dinagat Island and

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

. It lives only in an area that's at least 950 meters high, and in dwarf mossy forests less than 10 square kilometers. It was the last member of its genus to be discovered in May 2006. According to team leader and lead author Danilo Balete, "Hamiguitan batomys is the first mammal to be described from Eastern

, and the first thought to live only in that area." This species corroborates the hypothesis that the island of Mindanao has multiple centers of

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

, of which the southeastern highland of Mount Hamiguitan is one.

References

External links

New rat species found on Philippines mountain
Phys.org, 18 February 2009 Rats of Asia Batomys Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Mindanao Rodents of the Philippines Mammals described in 2008 {{Murinae-stub