The Tokunoshima spiny rat (''Tokudaia tokunoshimensis'') is a
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 ...
found only on the island of
Tokunoshima
, also known in English as is an island in the Amami archipelago of the southern Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
The island, in area, has a population of approximately 27,000. The island is divided into three administrative ...
in the
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...
of
Japan. Due to its small
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
, it is considered endangered. It is commonly found in the secondary and primary
subtropical moist broadleaf forests of this island.
The
karyotype has an odd
diploid number, 2n = 45.
Like its relative ''
T. osimensis'', it is one of the few mammals that lack a
Y chromosome
The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...
and
''SRY'' gene.
The species is threatened by
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...
and predation by feral cats and dogs.
See also
* ''
Ellobius lutescens
The Transcaucasian mole vole (''Ellobius lutescens'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Turkey.
Chromosomes
The karyotype has a low, odd, diploid number, 2n = 17,X. Transcau ...
''
* ''
Ellobius tancrei
The Zaisan mole vole (''Ellobius tancrei''), or eastern mole vole, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in central Asia.
Description
The Zaisan mole vole is highly adapted to life underground. It grows to a head and body ...
''
References
Tokudaia
Endemic mammals of Japan
Endemic fauna of the Ryukyu Islands
Mammals described in 2006
{{Murinae-stub