The mountain giant Sunda rat, ''Sundamys infraluteus'' (also known as the giant mountain rat or giant rat of Sumatra) is a large

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

, around 480 to 640 millimeters (19 to 25 inches) in total length (230 to 290 millimeters -11.5 inchesexcluding the tail). It weighs 230 to 600 grams. This makes it somewhat larger than a

Norway rat The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown or grey rodent wi ...

, which averages around 300 grams, with 500 grams being unusually large. The rat is mostly dark brown with paler brownish specks. Its long fur is covered with even longer

guard hairs Guard hair or overhair is the outer layer of hair of most mammals, which overlay the fur. Guard hairs are long and coarse and protect the rest of the pelage (fur) from abrasion and frequently from moisture. They are visible on the surface of the f ...

. The tail is uniformly brown.

Habitat and habits

This species lives in forested mountains, between 700 and 2400 meters. It is found in southeastern Asia, especially

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. The species is

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...

Other information

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

refers to a ' giant rat of Sumatra' in "

The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", written by British author Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 Sherlock Holmes stories collected between 1921 and 1927 as '' The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in the January 1924 issue ...

". Some scholars, including

Leslie S. Klinger Leslie S. Klinger is an American attorney and writer. He is a noted literary editor and annotator of classic genre fiction, including the Sherlock Holmes stories and the novels ''Dracula'', ''Frankenstein'', and ''Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and ...

, have identified that rat as ''Sundamys infraluteus''.

References

Taxonomy and common namesDescription, habits, and habitat
Sundamys Rats of Asia Rodents of Malaysia Rodents of Indonesia Mammals described in 1888 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Rodents of Borneo {{Murinae-stub