''Solomys'' is a genus 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 lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are roden ...

in the family

Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. The name Muridae com ...

. These large rats, which are all seriously

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

(one already extinct), are native to the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its ca ...

. It contains the following species: * Poncelet's giant rat (''Solomys ponceleti'') * Florida naked-tailed rat (''Solomys salamonis'') * Bougainville naked-tailed rat (''Solomys salebrosus'') * Isabel naked-tailed rat (''Solomys sapientis'') * Buka Island naked-tailed rat (''Solomys spriggsarum'') – extinct, known only from

subfossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

remains.

References

Rodent genera Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Murinae-stub