The Manus Island mosaic-tailed rat or Manus melomys (''Melomys matambuai'') 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, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
The name Muridae come ...
.
It is
endemic to the island of
Manus in
Papua New Guinea where it occurs in forest habitats and is largely arboreal.
The
International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "
endangered" because the natural forest on the island is progressively being cleared and the total area of occurrence of this species is less than .
References
Melomys
Rats of Asia
Endemic fauna of Papua New Guinea
Rodents of Papua New Guinea
Endangered fauna of Asia
Mammals described in 1994
Taxa named by Tim Flannery
Taxa named by Donald J. Colgan
{{Melomys-stub