Mallomys gunung

DISTRIBUTION: New Guinea, Irian Jaya, Snow Mts; known only from vicinity of the type locality and Mt Carstenz (see map in Flannery et al., 1989: 97).

Sumber: Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

Habitat. Alpine grasslands and barren areas above tree line, at elevations of 3500 - 4050 m.

Sumber: Muridae

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Sumber: Muridae

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Alpine Woolly Rat has a relatively small distribution and is located in Lorentz National Park. Major threats include increased chance of fires from global climate change, hunting, and predation by wild dogs.

Sumber: Muridae

Descriptive notes. Head-body 415 - 470 mm, tail 355 - 368 mm, ear 35 - 36 - 5 mm, hindfoot 68 - 9 - 75 mm; weight 2 kg. The Alpine Woolly Rat is an extremely large species of giant rat in genus Mallomys. Pelage is long, dense, and somewhat woolly, with long dark guard hairs with white tips throughout (except on shoulders and head, which are just black); dorsal pelage is gray, and ventral pelage is yellowish white. Feet are blackish with long black and white hairs and long slender claws, unlike the other species in genus. Ears are somewhatless blackish and more pointed than those of congeners; vibrissae are long and black. Tail is short (c. 78 - 86 % of head-body length), and black basally and white ventrally. Penis is very unusual, having tip crowned byfive papillae, the two ventral papillae greenish in color. Incisor enamel is white, rather than orange as inall other Mallomys. There are three pairs of mammae, one pectoral and two inguinal pairs.