The small-eared rat (''Taeromys microbullatus''), is an extant species of Old World
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 ...
that inhabits the
southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
of
Sulawesi, an
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n island.
The rat is found in the
Mekongga Mountains of southeastern Sulawesi. Following the identification of ''Taeromys microbullatus'' in 1935, the species was associated with the ''
R. xanthurus'' in 1941, ''
P. dominator'' from 1949, and later ''
T. callitrichus'' from 1970. In ''
Mammal Species of the World
''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, published in late 2005, ...
'', a more contemporary record suggests that ''T. microbullatus'' is closer to ''T. callitrichus'' than other species within the genus ''Taeromys''.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1768175
Taeromys
Rodents of Sulawesi
Mammals described in 1935
Mammals of Indonesia