The Rossel Island melomys (''Melomys arcium'') 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 ...
from the family
Muridae. It is
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
Rossel Island
Rossel Island (named after de Rossel, a senior officer on the French expedition of d'Entrecasteaux, 1791-1793; also known as Yela) is the easternmost island of the Louisiade Archipelago, within the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Tree Isl ...
in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, but Flannery (1955) presumed that "it did exist previously on other islands of the group, but has become extinct on all except Rossel."
For many years it was seen as a subspecies of the
white-bellied mosaic-tailed rat, but is now considered a distinct species.
[ It is listed as data deficient by 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 the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
in light of little information on "population status, ecological requirements, and threats".
See also
* White-bellied mosaic-tailed rat
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2085576
Melomys
Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas
Rodents of New Guinea