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The bulldog rat (''Rattus nativitatis'') is an extinct species of rat formerly endemic to
Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...
in the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
. It was one of two rats endemic to Christmas Island, alongside Maclear's rat
Maclear's rat (''Rattus macleari'') is an extinct large rat Endemism, endemic to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. It was one of two species of rat native to Christmas Island, alongside the bulldog rat. Abundant, unfamiliar with and seemingly ...
.
Description
The head and body length was about , considerably larger than black rats, and their backs were covered in a two-centimetre thick layer of fat. They have been estimated to weigh . They had short, thick tails estimated to be around long. Their hair was described as being thick, coarse and dark reddish-brown in colour, with a slightly lighter underside. Despite being traditionally thought to be a part of the genus ''Rattus
''Rattus'' is a genus of muroid rodents, all typically called rats. However, the term rat can also be applied to rodent species outside of this genus.
Species and description
The best-known ''Rattus'' species are the black rat (''R. rattus'') ...
,'' the bulldog rat is now thought to be nested within '' Bunomys,'' a genus otherwise endemic to Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu ...
and the surrounding islands.
Life history
The rats lived on the higher hills and denser forests of the island. They lived in small colonies, in burrows among the roots of trees or under hollow logs of sago palms inprimary forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...
. They were sluggish and never climbed. Bulldog rats have been suggested to have been half-dazed in daylight and were strictly nocturnal.
Extinction
The last record dates from 1903. They are suggested to have succumbed to a disease brought byblack rat
The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is ...
s that had been inadvertently introduced by sailors, as mass die-offs are noted around 1902–1903, after which they were never seen again.
References
Further reading
* Rattus Fauna of Christmas Island Rodents of Asia Extinct rodents Extinct animals of Australia Species made extinct by human activities Rodent extinctions since 1500 Mammals described in 1888 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas 1903 in the environment {{ChristmasIsland-stub