Uromys (Uromys) Peters, 1867

Groves, C. P. & Flannery, Tim F., 1994, A revision of the genus Uromys Peters, 1867 (Muridae: Mammalia) with descriptions of two new species, Records of the Australian Museum 46 (2), pp. 145-169 : 151

Uromys (Uromys) Peters, 1867

Type species. Mus macropus Gray, 1866 (= Hapalotis caudimaculatus Krefft, 1867 ).

Revised diagnosis. The species of Uromys (Uromys) can be distinguished from the species of Uromys (Cyromys) by possessing the following features: i) incisive foramina very shortened, narrow, slit-like; ii) molars simple and elongated, M3 greatly reduced in size; iii) bony palate greatly lengthened posteriorly; v) interdental ridges multiplied, with more than seven, and as many as 12 present; vi) anterior cingulum of MJ greatly reduced, obliterated on only moderately worn teeth; vii) cranial characters listed under U. ( Cyromys ) primitive in their states in U. ( Uromys ).

The following additional features are also useful in identifying species of the subgenus U. ( Uromys ). The lingual marginal ridges of the molar alveoli are enlarged. There are no frontotemporal ridges, but laterally directed processes of varying size are present behind the sutures. The medial and anterior walls of the orbitotemporal fossa are vertical, as is the preorbital foramen. The posterior ends of the nasals are not broadened, the zygomatic arches swing down to the level of the molar alveoli, the nasals slightly protrude anterior of the premaxillae, the incisors are orthodont, the paroccipital processes are short (not descending lower than the inferior margin of the external auditory meatus), the ascending rami of the dentary do not flare laterally, the toothrows are comparatively well spaced.