''Hydromys'' is a

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 ...

semiaquatic In biology, being semi-aquatic refers to various macroorganisms that live regularly in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. When referring to animals, the term describes those that actively spend part of their daily time in water (in ...

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 ...

s in the subfamily

Murinae The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families excep ...

. Three

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), ...

are

endemic 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 ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and nearby islands. The fourth species, the

rakali The rakali (''Hydromys chrysogaster''), also known as the rabe, the "Australian otter" or water-rat, is an Australian native rodent first scientifically described in 1804. Adoption of the Ngarrindjeri name ''rakali'' is intended to foster a posit ...

, is also found on

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The most recently discovered member of this genus was described in 2005.

List of species

Genus ''Hydromys'' - water rats: *

Rakali The rakali (''Hydromys chrysogaster''), also known as the rabe, the "Australian otter" or water-rat, is an Australian native rodent first scientifically described in 1804. Adoption of the Ngarrindjeri name ''rakali'' is intended to foster a posit ...

, ''Hydromys chrysogaster'' E. Geoffroy, 1804 *

Western water rat The western water rat (''Hydromys hussoni'') is a semiaquatic species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat los ...

, ''Hydromys hussoni'' Musser and Piik, 1982 *

New Britain water rat The New Britain water rat (''Hydromys neobritannicus'') is a species of semiaquatic rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also ...

, ''Hydromys neobritannicus'' Tate and Archbold, 1935 *

Ziegler's water rat Ziegler's water rat (''Hydromys ziegleri''), described in the mid-2000s, is a semiaquatic species of rodent native to the mountains Papua New Guinea of which little is known. Research and history It was described in 2005 by K. Helgen,

, ''Hydromys ziegleri'' Helgen, 2005 Note: ''

Hydromys habbema The mountain water rat (''Baiyankamys habbema'') is a semiaquatic species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is river A river is a natural stream of fresh wat ...

'' Tate and Archbold, 1941 and ''

Hydromys shawmayeri Shaw Mayer's water rat (''Baiyankamys shawmayeri'') is a semiaquatic species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in the mountains of Papua New Guinea. Names It is known as kuypep kuykuy-sek in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea ...

'' (Hinton, 1943) are placed within ''

Baiyankamys '' Baiyankamys'' is a genus of amphibious murid rodents. It was originally described, along with the species '' Baiyankamys shawmayeri'' by Hinton in 1943 after he found the remains of a single individual in south east of the Bismarck Mountai ...

'' after Helgen, 2005.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Rodent genera Taxa named by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire