Rattus exulans

Thomas (1914: 439) reported three specimens of “ Epimys browni ” from “ Manus Island. ” Taylor et al. (1982), referring to these same three specimens, recorded them as from “ Manus Is., 5 m, 02 ° 04 ′ S, 147 ° 00 ′ E, ” treated them as members of Rattus exulans browni (Alston, 1877), and gave their catalog numbers as BMNH 14.4.1.18 – 14.4.1.20. Owing to the known recent past and assumed present mobility of this commensal species, we do not recognize subspecies. Williams (1999) did not report R. exulans as having been found at the Pamwak archeological site on Manus, but T. F. Flannery (in litt.) states that he did find this species in remains from there. Although Aplin et al. (2015: 51) stated that Flannery (1995 b) reported R. exulans from the Pamwak site, this is not the case. Aplin et al. (2015: 57) reported having caught 13 specimens in 2014, encountering this species in a variety of habitats on Manus, noting “ They appeared to be most numerous in the garden and village habitats, and to be relatively scarce in the natural forest. ” This is not surprising in view of the commensal nature of this species. In addition to trapped individuals, visual sightings and camera trap records were also recorded.

Sumber: Marsupials And Rodents Of The Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea