''Melomys'' 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 ...
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 ...
s 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.
...
. Members of this genus live in the wet habitats of northern Australia (
Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...
),
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 ...
,
Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their tot ...
and islands of the
Indonesian archipelago.
Species
The genus contains the following species:
*
Dusky mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys aerosus'')
*
Rossel Island mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys arcium'')
*
Bannister's rat (''Melomys bannisteri'')
*
Bougainville mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys bougainville'')
*
Grassland mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys burtoni'')
*
Cape York mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys capensis'')
*
Short-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat
The short-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat or the short-tailed Talaud melomys (''Melomys caurinus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It is endemic to Karakelong and Salebabu in the Talaud Islands in Indonesia where it occurs in fo ...
(''Melomys caurinus'')
*
Fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys cervinipes'')
*
Yamdena mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys cooperae'')
*
Dollman's mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys dollmani'')
*
Manusela mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys fraterculus'')
*
Snow Mountains grassland mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys frigicola'')
*
Seram long-tailed mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys fulgens'')
*
Riama mosaic-tailed rat
''Riama'' is a genus of lizards in the Family (biology), family Gymnophthalmidae. The genus is Endemism, endemic to South America.
Species
The genus ''Riama'' contains 16 species which are recognized as being valid. www.reptile-database.org.
*'' ...
(''Melomys howi'')
*
White-bellied mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys leucogaster'')
*
Papua grassland mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys lutillus'')
*
Manus Island mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys matambuai'')
*
Obi mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys obiensis'')
*
Pavel's Seram mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys paveli'')
* †
Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys rubicola'') – considered the only mammal endemic to the
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
and represents the first documented mammal extinction (2016, confirmed 2019) due to climate change
*
Black-tailed mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys rufescens'')
*
Buka Island mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys spechti'')
*
Long-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys talaudium'')
References
Rodent genera
Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Melomys-stub