Ziegler's water rat (''Hydromys ziegleri''), described in the mid-2000s, is a

semiaquatic In biology, being semi-aquatic refers to various macroorganisms that live regularly in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. When referring to animals, the term describes those that actively spend part of their daily time in water (in ...

species of rodent native to the mountains

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

of which little is known.

Research and history

It was described in 2005 by K. Helgen,Dictionary of Australian and New Guinean mammals
Ronald Strahan, Pamela Conder, 2007, access date 06-11-2011. and later was assessed by Helgen, and A. Allison in 2008. The water rat was named in honor of the deceased Dr. Alan C. Ziegler from the

Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1 ...

. It has been rated as data deficient for the purposes of the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

because insufficient is known about the creature's population range, threats, and numbers. Only two specimens have ever been recorded by scientists. The water rat may be threatened by logging of its forest habitat but more research is needed to codify this theory. It is also believed it may inhabit the northern slopes of its mountain home but study is needed to determine this as fact.

Habitat

This species inhabits both terrestrial and freshwater systems. This includes forests, subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests, inland wetlands, permanent watercourses, and artificial terrestrial areas. The animal has only been recorded in Bainyik, located on the south slopes of the Prince Alexander Mountains at an elevation of 200 meters (650 feet). The rat has been found to live in creeks and rivers in low lying tropical rain forests but it may also live in higher elevations.

References

External links

Profile on IUCN Red List
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1971434 Hydromys Mammals described in 2005 Endemic fauna of New Guinea Rodents of Papua New Guinea