The Mindoro striped rat (''Chrotomys mindorensis'') 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. ...

. It 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 ...

Taxonomy

''Chrotomys mindorensis'' was first described as a subspecies of '' C. whiteheadi'' by Remington Kellogg in 1945, and later elevated to a full species by Guy Musser, Linda Gordon, and Helmut Sommer in 1982. The type locality is "3 miles south-southeast of San Jose (Central)", on

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...

island. It was originally distinguished from ''C. whiteheadi'' by features of its teeth and

cranium The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

. The difference in color between the two species was initially thought to be an artifact of the age of the old museums specimens of ''C. whiteheadi'', which had been stored since 1895, but later analysis proved that ''C. whiteheadi'' in fact had darker fur even in recently collected specimens.

Description

The Mindoro stripped rat has thinner fur compared to ''C. whiteheadi.'' Many individuals have black or dark brown stripes along the back, with a yellow stripe in the center along the spine; the color of this stripe varies significantly within the species. The rest of the body is "pale yellowish buff, suffused with gray on the sides of the head and body", unlike the dark brown fur of ''C. whiteheadi''. It is also distinguished from ''C. whiteheadi'' by its notably larger

molars The molars or molar teeth are large, flat tooth, teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammal, mammals. They are used primarily to comminution, grind food during mastication, chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, '' ...

. The Mindoro stripped rat is larger than the other species in ''Chrotomys.'' The length of the head and body ranges from to , with a tail from to .

Distribution, ecology, and conservation status

The Mindoro stripped rat occurs on the islands of

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 ...

in the Philippines. It has been found at elevations between to . It lives in forest and nearby farmlands. The diet includes earthworms. It is concerned a species of Least Concern by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

due to its large range and likely high population, as well as tolerance for human disruption of its habitat.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q303900 Rats of Asia Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Mindoro Rodents of the Philippines Mammals described in 1945 Chrotomys Taxonomy articles created by Polbot