The Malabar spiny dormouse (''Platacanthomys lasiurus'') is a species of

muroid rodent The Muroidea are a large superfamily of rodents, including mice, rats, voles, hamsters, lemmings, gerbils, and many other relatives. Although the Muroidea originated in Eurasia, they occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent except A ...

endemic to the Western Ghats of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Platacanthomys'' and although resembling a

dormouse A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...

, it is not closely related. About the size of a

brown rat The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat and Parisian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown o ...

, this arboreal species lives in tree holes in dense forest habitats in a small family group. They are distinguishable from other species in the area by their bushy tuft tip to the tail and the spiny fur on the back.

Description

This rodent is about 5 in long with a 4-in tail. The ears are large and pointed at the tip. The whiskers are numerous and some are very long. The hairy tail is covered with longer hairs towards the end, making the tail wider at the tip. The hairs arise on the sides towards the base of the tail (an arrangement termed as "subdistichous") giving the tail a slightly flattened appearance. The pollux ("thumb") and hallux ("big toe") are without claws. The skull is broad and flat above and the infraorbital foramen is large. They are brownish above and whitish below with a distinct border. The feet are whitish. The tip of the tail is sometimes whitish, but is otherwise like the colour of the back. The fur on the back has scattered broad and flat spiny hairs with white tips. Finer spines are also found on the fur of the underside.

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus name is derived from the flattened (''platy-'') spines (Greek ''acantha''), while ''mus'' refers to a mouse. The species name ''lasiurus'' is based on the Greek ''lasios'' for hairy and ''—oura'' for tail. The position of this species has been puzzled on from very early times. In 1860, Sclater exhibited a specimen noting it as a new dormouse from the

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

. As early as 1865, this position was disputed on the basis of the dental formula. Peters (1865) suggested that the species was unrelated to the dormice and suggested that they should be placed with the murine genera of India. This position in the family Muridae was used in ''The Fauna of British India'' (1891). Palmer (1897) placed the subfamily Platacanthomyinae within the Gliridae. but Ellerman (1940) placed the genus in the subfamily Platacanthomyinae under the family Muscardinidae. Nowak (1999) places the subfamily within the Muridae and includes the genus '' Typhlomys'' in this subfamily. The exact phylogenetic relations of ''Platacanthomys'' have not been examined using sequence based approaches although ''Typhlomys'' has been confirmed to belong within the Muroid clade. A fossil from the late Miocene (about 9 Mya) of China has been described as ''Platacanthomys dianensis''.

Distribution

The species is found only in the denser forest regions of the Western Ghats and the Nilgiri hills. They are found in altitudes up to 2000 m (such as at

Ootacamund Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and ...

and

Coonoor Coonoor, natively spelt as Kunnur (), is a Taluk and a municipality of the Nilgiris district in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494. Demographics According to 2011 census, Coonoor had a populatio ...

) and are found at very low densities. The northernmost record is from Sagar in Shimoga district of Karnataka. Records are few and scattered and published records are from Aralam, Coorg, Peppara and Karianshola. The species was however considered to be common when it was first discovered by Reverend H. Baker (from Mundakyam, Allepey). He obtained the first specimens for Edward Blyth and noted that they lived in hole nests in large trees and that they were considered a minor pest of fruit trees and in cardamom and pepper plantations.

Behaviour and ecology

The species is nocturnal and is largely frugivorous. A specimen in captivity fed voraciously on a diet of fruits. When sleeping, it curls its body, hedgehog-like, with its tail protruding. The species is believed to feed on pepper in plantations, but trapping surveys suggest they are mainly restricted to undisturbed forest habitats. Four young have been noted in one litter.

References

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