A new genus and species of shrew-like mouse (Rodentia: Muridae) from a new center of endemism in eastern Mindanao, Philippines

JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY(2022)

Cited 2|Views5
No score
Abstract
The Philippine archipelago hosts an exceptional diversity of murid rodents that have diversified following several independent colonization events. Here, we report the discovery of a new species of rodent from Mt. Kampalili on eastern Mindanao Island. Molecular and craniodental analyses reveal this species as a member of a Philippine "New Endemic" clade consisting of Tarsomys, Limnomys, and Rattus everetti (tribe Rattini). This new species of "shrew-mouse" is easily distinguished from its relatives in both craniodental and external characteristics including a long, narrow snout; small eyes and ears; short, dark, dense fur dorsally and ventrally; stout body with a tapering, visibly haired tail shorter than head and body length; stout forepaws; bulbous and nearly smooth braincase; narrow, tapering rostrum; short incisive foramina; slender mandible; and narrow, slightly opisthodont incisors. This new genus and species of murid rodent illustrates that murids of the tribe Rattini have exhibited greater species and morphological diversification within the Philippines than previously known and provides evidence that Mt. Kampalili represents a previously unrecognized center of mammalian endemism on Mindanao Island that is deserving of conservation action.
More
Translated text
Key words
biogeography, conservation, diversification, endemism, montane forest, mossy forest, Mt, Kampalili, oceanic island, taxonomy
AI Read Science
Must-Reading Tree
Example
Generate MRT to find the research sequence of this paper
Chat Paper
Summary is being generated by the instructions you defined