The broad-toothed mouse or broad-toothed rat (''Mastacomys fuscus'') is a species of
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 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.
...
.
Distribution and habitat
It is found only in South-eastern Australia. In
Victoria live specimens have been caught in the
Snowfields,
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...
(to
Cooma
Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega, New South Wales, Bega with the Riverina.
...
in New South Wales),
Gippsland Highlands,
Otway Ranges and
Wilsons Promontory
Wilsons Promontory is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland, located in the state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria.
South Point (Wilsons Promontory), South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promon ...
. Specimens located in
scats have been found in the
Otway plains and
East Gippsland. The species is also recorded in
buttongrass sedgeland up to 1000 metres in western
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
.
[Menkhorst and Knight, 2001 p. 198]
Habitat preferences are areas of
herbfields,
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
s and
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
s with minimal shrubs but a dense covering of sedge, grass, herbs and moss, where precipitation does not fall below 1400 mm per year in
alpine areas and others 1000 mm at lower
altitude
Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...
s (DCNR 1995 pp. 208–210).
References
*
BROAD-TOOTHED RAT, MASTACOMYS FUSCUS (RODENTIA, MURIDAE), FOUND IN ALPINE HEATHLAND IN TASMANIA by MICHAEL M. DRIESSEN
External links
*
Mammals of Tasmania
Old World rats and mice
Mammals of New South Wales
Mammals of Victoria (state)
Rodents of Australia
Mammals described in 1882
Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Murinae-stub