Eliurus antsingy, Carleton, Goodman & Rakotondravony, 2001
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6600357 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6600209 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03993828-FFF0-0F55-FAFB-F590CE22FB22 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Eliurus antsingy |
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Antsingy Tufted-tail Rat
French: Rat-loir dAntsingy / German: Antsingy-Bilchschwanz / Spanish: Rata de cola de penacho de Antsingy
Other common names: Tsingy Tuft-tailed Rat
Taxonomy. Eliurus antsingy Carleton, Goodman & Rakotondravony, 2001 View in CoL ,
“ Madagascar, Toliara Province, Antsingy Forest, near Bekopaka , about 19°07.5’S, 44°49.0’E.” GoogleMaps
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. Endemic to W Madagascar. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 142-153 mm, tail 153-195 mm; weight 87-101 g. Dorsal fur of Antsingy Tufted-tail Rat is generally drab dark brown or gray-brown, and undercoat fur is nearly black. Ventral pelage varies and is often entirely white, sometimes mottled gray-white. Last one-half of tail has brown or grayish brown hair and, in some individuals, mixed with white hair. Tail ends with well-defined tuft, and some individuals have consecutive white and brown whorls. Tarsi, feet, and toes are white.
Habitat. Dry deciduous forest, specifically karst areas forming “tsingy” (limestone towers) habitat, at elevations of 100-430 m.
Food and Feeding. The Antsingy Tuftedtail Rat is presumed to be largely granivorous.
Breeding. The Antsingy Tufted-tail Rat has three pairs of mammae.
Activity patterns. The Antsingy Tufted-tail Rat is nocturnal and largely terrestrial, although it often lives off the ground in limestone outcrops. A few individuals have been trapped in trees in relatively narrow canyons and close proximity to rock outcrops.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. The Antsingy Tufted-tail Rat is forest-dwelling and is known from less than ten localities in the Malagasy dry deciduous forests resting on limestone. Its extent of occurrence is 23,700 km?. Given continued declines in natural forests ofthis region, its mediumand long-term future is uncertain.
Bibliography. Carleton et al. (2001), Goodman, Raheriarisena & Jansa (2009), Goodman, Soarimalala et al. (2013), Soarimalala & Goodman (2011).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
