''Uromys'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
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 ...
s found in
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, ...
and
Australia. They are known as the giant naked-tailed rats. There are eleven species in the genus, with the most recent described in 2017.
Species
*
Giant naked-tailed rat
The giant naked-tailed rat (''Uromys anak'') is a species of rodent 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, ...
, ''Uromys anak''
Thomas, 1907
*
Biak giant rat, ''Uromys boeadii''
Groves & Flannery, 1994
*
Giant white-tailed rat
The giant white-tailed rat (''Uromys caudimaculatus'') is an Australian rodent native to tropical rainforest of north Queensland, with subspecies occurring in New Guinea and the Aru Islands. It is one of the largest rodents in Australia, reaching ...
, ''Uromys caudimaculatus''
Krefft, 1867
*
Emma's giant rat
Emma's uromys or Emma's giant rat (''Uromys emmae'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is only known from Owi Island, a small island of the size of about one square kilometer some 5km South of Biak Island, Indonesia
Indones ...
, ''Uromys emmae''
Groves & Flannery, 1994
*
Masked white-tailed rat
The masked white-tailed rat (''Uromys hadrourus'') is a species of rodent 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, ...
, ''Uromys hadrourus''
Winter, 1983
*
Emperor rat
The emperor rat (''Uromys imperator'') is a large species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 9 ...
, ''Uromys imperator''
Thomas, 1888
*
Bismarck giant rat
The Bismarck giant rat (''Uromys neobritannicus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It is endemic to the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gin ...
, ''Uromys neobritannicus''
Tate & Archbold, 1935
*
Guadalcanal rat
The Guadalcanal rat (''Uromys porculus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It was found only in the Solomon Islands. Since this species was collected between 1886 and 1888 it has not been seen again. It is possibly extinct.
Descri ...
, ''Uromys porculus''
Thomas, 1904
*
King rat, ''Uromys rex''
Thomas, 1888
*
Great Key Island giant rat
The Great Key Island giant rat, or Great Key Island uromys (''Uromys siebersi'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is known only from Great Key Island, Indonesia.
The species name is after the ornithologist H. C. Siebers Hendrik ...
, ''Uromys siebersi''
Thomas, 1923
*
Vangunu giant rat
The Vangunu giant rat (''Uromys vika''), locally known as the vika, is a giant arboreal species of rodent in the family Muridae. The rat was discovered in the island of Vangunu in the Solomon Islands in 2015, after years of searching based on loca ...
, ''Uromys vika''
Lavery & Judge, 2017[Lavery, T. H.; Judge, H.; A new species of giant rat (Muridae, ''Uromys'') from Vangunu, Solomon Islands, ''Journal of Mammalogy'', gyx116, https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyx116]
References
Rodent genera
Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters
Extant Pleistocene first appearances
{{Murinae-stub