The Mindanao mountain rat or long-tailed moss mouse (''Limnomys sibuanus''), is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the 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 rodents. They are n ...

in the family Muridae. It is found only in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, where it is present at high altitudes in the

Kitanglad Mountain Range Kitanglad Mountain Range is a mountain range that dominates the northern central portion of the province of Bukidnon. It occupies portions of eight of the municipalities and cities in the province such as Talakag, Baungon, Libona, Manolo Fortic ...

on the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

Taxonomy

''Limnomys sibuanus'' was first described in 1905 by the American naturalist

Edgar Alexander Mearns Edgar Alexander Mearns (September 11, 1856 – November 1, 1916) was an American surgeon, ornithologist and field naturalist. He was a founder of the American Ornithologists' Union. Life Mearns was born in n Highland Falls, New York to Alex ...

. It was based on a single individual and limited in its scope. In 1913, the biologist

Ned Hollister Ned Hollister (November 26, 1876 – November 3, 1924) was an American biologist primarily known for studying mammals. Hollister was born in Delavan, Wisconsin, to parents Kinner Newcomb Hollister (1841–1911) and Frances Margaret (Tilden) Hollis ...

described a second species in the genus, ''L. mearnsii'', from a number of specimens, but this was later synonymised with ''L. sibuanus''. Another species was described in 2003 by Eric A. Rickart as ''

Limnomys bryophilus The gray-bellied mountain rat, also known as the gray-bellied limnomys and the buffy-collared moss-mouse (''Limnomys bryophilus''), is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the Philippines, where it is common at high ele ...

''. The new species had a "relatively longer tail, larger hind feet, softer pelage with grayish-white ventral coloration, larger skull with a longer rostrum, larger auditory bullae, larger molars, and other istinguishingcranial and dental features." Both species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the

in central

in the Philippines, but they differ in the elevations at which they are found.

Description

The Mindanao mountain rat has a head-and-body length of and a tail length of , and weighs . The

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

is short and somewhat coarse with flattened awns. The upper parts of this rat are yellowish-brown and the underparts are plain white, with no brown on the chest. The

pinnae The auricle or auricula is the visible part of the ear that is outside the head. It is also called the pinna (Latin for "wing" or " fin", plural pinnae), a term that is used more in zoology. Structure The diagram shows the shape and location ...

and the hind feet are smaller than those of ''L. bryophilus''. Its karyotype has 2n = 42 and FN = 61/62.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native to the Kitanglad Mountain Range in Mindanao where it occurs on Mount Apo, Mount Kitanglad and Mount Malindang. It is found at altitudes of between . Its habitat is forests composed mostly of conifers and

laurels ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cookin ...

up to high, with fallen trees, rhododendrons, other shrubs,

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

s, mosses and lichens.

Status

''L. sibuanus'' has a limited range but it is a common species in the tropical high altitude rainforest and moss forest; the whole mountain range is included in the Mount Kitanglad Range Natural Park, which was designated a protected area in 2000. The habitat is not being exploited and no particular threats to this species are known, so the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q302830 Limnomys Rats of Asia Endemic fauna of the Philippines Rodents of the Philippines Fauna of Mindanao Mammals described in 1905 Taxa named by Edgar Alexander Mearns Taxonomy articles created by Polbot