The northern Luzon giant cloud rat (''Phloeomys pallidus'') or northern Luzon slender-tailed cloud rat, also known as ''bu-ot'' in Filipino, is a large 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 The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. The name Muridae comes ...

. It is only found in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, 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 ...

Appearance

This very large rodent weighs and is long, including its tail. The colour of its relatively long

pelage 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 ...

, which also covers the tail, is highly variable, but usually it is mostly very pale brown-grey or white with some dark brown or black patches. They often have a black mask and collar, but can also be entirely white. The only other member of the genus ''

Phloeomys ''Phloeomys'', the slender-tailed cloud rats, is a genus of large rodents in the family Muridae. Both species in this genus are endemic to the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Although their tail is covered by hairs, it is considerably le ...

'', the southern Luzon giant cloud rat (''P. cumingi''), has a more southerly distribution, generally is smaller (although with some overlap) and it is entirely dark brown; however, the occasional brown Northern Luzon giant cloud rat has been reported in the

Mountain Province Mountain Province is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc. Mountain Province was formerly referred to as ''Mountain'' in some foreign references. The name is usually short ...

, and the taxonomic limits between the two ''Phloeomys'' are not fully resolved.

Distribution and habitat

The northern Luzon giant cloud rat is only found in northern and central part of

, the

. It is found in at least 12

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. The northern Luzon giant cloud rat prefers forest and scrub, but also occurs in degraded habitats such as plantations. It occurs from sea level to an altitude of about . In some areas it overlaps with the rarer giant bushy-tailed cloud rat, but that species mainly occurs at higher altitudes than the northern Luzon giant cloud rat.

Behavior

The northern Luzon giant cloud rat is

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

and feeds on various types of vegetation. Because of its relatively large size, it does not enter traditional small-mammal traps and this has limited research in the species.

Reproduction

Northern Luzon giant cloud rats often live in pairs with one or two dependent young. They give birth in hollow boles of trees (standing or fallen) or in burrows in the ground. The sperm head of northern Luzon giant cloud rat has a short apical hook, with the sperm tail attached off-center basally. The tail of the sperm is about 127 µm long.

Conservation status

The northern Luzon giant cloud rat can cause extensive damage to

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

crops and are sometimes considered a pest. They are regularly hunted for food in the

Sierra Madre Sierra Madre (Spanish, 'mother mountain range') may refer to: Places and mountains Mexico *Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona *Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range in northeastern Mexico *S ...

. It has been

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from some regions because of hunting, but overall it appears to be able to withstand hunting pressure and in general it remains common and widespread.

References