Bunomys andrewsi (J. A. Allen, 1911)

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Muridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 536-884 : 866-867

762.

Andrews’s Hill Rat

Bunomys andrewsi

French: Bunomys dAndrews / German: Andrews-Sulawesi-Bergratte / Spanish: Rata de colina de Andrews Other common names: Andrews's Bunomys

Taxonomy. Mus andrewsi J. A. Allen, 1911,

Buton Island, north-eastern Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Bunomys andrewsi is in the B. fratrorum species group within Bunomys and is sister to B. penitus . It includes heinrichi, which might be a distinct species. Monotypic.

Distribution. C & S Sulawesi and nearby Buton I.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 137- 195 mm, tail 110-167 mm, ear 22-30 mm, hindfoot 35-44 mm; weight 95-222 g. Andrews’s Hill Rat is a medium-sized species of broad-headed and stocky Bunomys . Pelage is soft and moderately long, with shortish dark guard hairs. Dorsum is rich dark brown or brownish gray, speckled with buff and black with gray underfur. Hairs are tipped with buff, and underfur hairs are tipped with pale buff. Rhinarium and lips are unpigmented. Venter is primarily grayish white, generally fading from dorsal pelage, although demarcation can be conspicuous. Feet are long and slender, with white digits and white or whitespeckled with brown or brownish orange. Juveniles have shorter, finer, and darker pelage, lacking buff and with grayish white underparts. Ears are covered in short unpigmented hair, rubbery, and colored with gray or brown hues. Tail is 75-92% of head-body length, grayish brown dorsally, and white to unicolored brown and brownish gray ventrally; some individuals have white tip on tail. Skull is large, with long and narrow rostrum and wide zygomatic plate. Sucking lice (Hoploplura), ticks (Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis), mites (Laelaps), pseudoscorpions (Chiridiochernes), trematodes (Bunomystrongylus), and nematodes (Platynosomoides) have been recorded from Andrews’s Hill Rat. There are two pairs of inguinal mammae. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 42, FN = 58.

Habitat. Primarily lowland tropical evergreen rainforest, lower montane rainforest, and secondary forest and scrubby areas close to undisturbed forest at elevations up to 1400 m.

Food and Feeding. Andrews’s Hill Rat is a voracious omnivore that has similar feeding habits as the Common Hill Rat ( B. chrysocomus ). It is mainly carnivorous, feeding on earthworms (held in hands after being aggressively captured with incisors and bitten into segments that are swallowed whole), snails (grabbed similarly to earthworms but turned multiple times in hands and then parts of shell are bitten off and flesh is eaten), arthropods (head is bitten and they are eaten head down, excluding wings and limbs; insects included adult and larval beetles, macrolepidopteran larvae, moths, crickets, grasshoppers, praying mantids, rhinotermitid termites, and geophilomorph centipedes), and gekkos (pounce on, bit in the head, chest, and abdomen and eaten from head to tail completely). Fruits is eaten less regularly than animal food and include those offig trees ( Ficus , Moraceae ), understory palms ( Pinanga , Arecaceae ), Sandoricum (Meliaceae) , Sapium (Euphorbiaceae) , Palaquium obtusifolium ( Sapotaceae ), Hydnocarpus sumatrana (Achariaceae) , Gnetum cuspidatum ( Gnetaceae ), and Pandanus (Pandanaceae) .

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Andrews’s Hill Rat is nocturnal and terrestrial. It nests in underground burrows with entrances concealed by leaves or rocks and probably with sleeping chamberfull of leaves.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Andrews’s Hill Rat is an aggressive rodent.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Andrews’s Hill Rat has a wide distribution and is considered relatively common throughout some parts ofits distribution; it occurs in Lore Lindu National Park. It is probably threatened by lowland deforestation from logging and agricultural expansion.

Bibliography. Cassola (2016ae), Durden (1991), Hasegawa & Mangali (1996), Musser (1991, 2014), Musser & Carleton (2005).

Figures

Distribution. C & S Sulawesi and nearby Buton I.