Carpomys melanurus Thomas 1895
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Muridae
Carpomys
Carpomys melanurus

description: 176.
Black-tailed Dwarf Cloud Rat
Carpomys melanurus
French: Carpomys a queue noire / German: Schwarzschwanz-Zwergborkenratte / Spanish: Rata enana de cola negra
Other common names: Large Luzon Carpomys, Short-footed Luzon Tree Rat
Taxonomy. Carpomys melanurus Thomas, 1895,
Mt. Data, [Luzon Island, Philippines.
Not included in any recent taxonomic studies. It is suggested to be close to Musseromys and its relatives. Monotypic.
Distribution. N Luzon I (Mt Data and Mt Pulag), Philippines.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 180-184 mm, tail 180-183 mm, ear 20 mm, hindfoot 32-34 mm; weight 165 g. The Black-tailed Dwarf Cloud Rat is a small rat
with a broad, blunt head and soft, fluffy, and thick fur and being larger than the Browntailed Dwarf Cloud Rat (C. phaeurus). Dorsal pelage is dark brown with coarse black lining throughout and is well demarcated from ventral pelage with some shading between them. Head is a lighter brown. Ventral pelage is nearly white, being slightly yellowish with a slate gray base to the hairs. There is a dark ring of fur surrounding the eye that gives a masked appearance. Feet are broad with white digits and a silvery brown stripe down the dorsal surface of the hindfeet. Ears are relatively short, rounded, and a lighter brown. Tail is long (c.100% of head-body length), hairy, and a dark brownishblack coloration, being more hairy than the Brown-tailed Dwarf Cloud Rat and having the dorsal pelage extend over the base ofthe tail. Skull is robust with a rounded braincase and flat face, being larger with larger molars and incisors when compared to the Brown-tailed Dwarf Cloud Rat. Females have two pairs of mammae, both of which are inguinal, and an elongated urinary papilla that looks similar to a penis sheath.
Habitat. Mossy forest around elevations of 2200-2300 m.
Food and Feeding. The Black-tailed Dwarf Cloud Rat probably feeds on seeds.
Breeding. No information.
Activity patterns. Black-tailed Dwarf Cloud Rats are probably nocturnal and arboreal. Mount Pulag specimens were captured in traps on top of moss-covered branches c.4 m above the ground with well worn trails. This indicates that they repetitively use trails to move through trees.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Until recently, the Black-tailed Dwarf Cloud Rat was known from only two specimens from Mount Data (the type series), but a new specimen was collected from Mount Pulag in 2008. The species was not recorded in recent surveys on Mount Data, which may indicate thatit has become locally extinct in that region.
Bibliography. Heaney, Balete, Dolar et al. (1998), Heaney, Balete & Rickart (2016), Kennerley (2016j), Largen (1985), Rickart et al. (2016), Thomas (1898b).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Muridae, pp. 536-884 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 657-658, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6887260