The gray-bellied mountain rat, also known as the gray-bellied limnomys and the buffy-collared moss-mouse (''Limnomys bryophilus''), 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 ...

, where it is common at high elevations of the

Kitanglad Mountain Range The Kitanglad Mountain Range dominates the northern central portion of the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. It occupies portions of eight of the municipalities and cities in the province such as Talakag, Baungon, Libona, Manolo Fortich, Impa ...

in the province of

Bukidnon Bukidnon (), officially the Province of Bukidnon (; ; ; Bukid language, Binukid and Higaonon language, Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Northern Mindan ...

on the island of

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 ...

. Its habitat is the moss-rich

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

from about 2,250 metres up to about 2,800 metres. The rats, which are nocturnal, feed on the ground on

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...

s, fruit, and seeds. Although equipped with three pairs of ''mammae'', females have been observed to give birth about once a year to only a small number of young, commonly as few as one or two. The gray-bellied mountain rat is one of only two species in the genus ''

Limnomys ''Limnomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Mindanao, Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western ...

''. The other, and the rat's only close relation, is the

Mindanao mountain rat The Mindanao mountain rat or long-tailed moss mouse (''Limnomys sibuanus''), is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the Philippines, where it is present at high altitudes in the Kitanglad Mountain Range on the island o ...

, ''Limnomys sibuanus''. While gray-bellies have been recorded only in the Kitanglad Mountains, the Mindanao is considered to be endemic to the mountains of the island of Mindanao and has been recorded from

Mount Apo Mount Apo is the highest mountain peak in the Philippines, with an elevation of above sea level. A large solfataric, dormant stratovolcano, it is part of the Apo-Talomo Mountain Range of Mindanao island. Apo is situated on the tripartite b ...

and

Mount Malindang Mount Malindang is a complex volcano located in the province of Misamis Occidental in the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines. It is the highest point in the province. The least studied mountain range was formed through several volcanic ac ...

as well as from

Mount Kitanglad Mount Kitanglad is an inactive volcano located in the Kitanglad Mountain Range in Bukidnon province on Mindanao island. It is the fourth highest mountain in the Philippines and has an approximate height of . It is located between Malaybalay a ...

. It has also been observed at lower elevations, its range being between about 2,000 metres and about 2,800 metres. The alternative name of "buffy-collared moss-mouse"Species Sheet Buffy-collared moss-mouse
at planet-mammiferes.org. Retrieved February 14, 2012. reflects the rat's small size.

References

Limnomys Rats of Asia Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Mindanao Rodents of the Philippines Mammals described in 2003 {{Murinae-stub