Crateromys paulus Musser & Gordon 1981

180.

Ilin Bushy-tailed Cloud Rat

Crateromys paulus

French: Crateromys d’llin / German: llin-Borkenratte / Spanish: Rata de cola peluda de llin

Other common names: |lin Crateromys, llin Hairy-tailed Cloud Rat

Taxonomy. Crateromys paulus Musser & Gordon, 1981,

Ilin island, Mindoro Occi-dental Province, Philippines.

Known from a single specimen whose ex-act origin is not precise. Different surveys have failed to collect this species on Ilin, but it might be present on nearby Mindoro. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality on Ilin I, Philippines.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 255 mm, tail 215 mm, ear 20 mm, hindfoot 50 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Ilin Bushy-tailed Cloud Rat is a medium-sized rat, with short, grizzled fur. Top of the head, shoulders, and top of front legs out over shoulders, back, middle of the sides of the body, rump, dorsal areas of hindlegs to ankles, and base of the tail for 45 mm are dark grizzled brown. Spots of gray hairs are visible on the sides of the face and extend below and behind the ears. There is a grayish crescent behind each shoulder and over each thigh. Crescents are dorsal extensions of the ventral coloration, which is overall creamy gray; the chin and throat, axillary regions, midline ofthe chest, and inguinal areas are cream-colored, without any gray suffusion. Tail is shorter (¢.84%) than headbody length and tricolored, ending in a white tip. Ears are short, rounded, sparsely haired, and dark;vibrissae are long. Feet are broad and dark. Skull has a small cranium, dentaries and molars. Compared to the Luzon Bushy-tailed Cloud Rat (C. schadenbergr),

they have a premaxillary-maxillary suture on each side of rostrum located anterior to the nasolacrimal capsule (instead of on the side of the capsule), squamosal roots of zygomatic arch that are situated lower on sides of the braincase, incisive foramina that are absolutely much shorter, and shorter relative to length of diastema; palatal bridge longer relative to palatilar length, and wider at the level of M1 relative to breadth of braincase.

Habitat. [Lowland forest.

Food and Feeding. Ilin Bushy-tailed Cloud Rats are probably fully herbivorous, and have been reported to eat tender vegetation, buds and bark of young pine trees, and fruits. Fruit is apparently eaten straight off the tree rather than on the ground.

Breeding. Females give birth to one or two young only once each year.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCNRed List. The Ilin Bushytailed Cloud Rat is currently known from only a single specimen collected on Ilin Island that was donated to the Smithsonian decades before the species was officially named. In 1996, the species was listed as Critically Endangered and could very well be extinct, although further research is needed,as it may occur in southern Mindoro as well, based on the reports of natives. It is almost certainly extinct on Ilin Island since focused surveys on the island and the nearby Ambulong Island in 1989, 1997,and 2000 have not found the animal. Extensive surveys across Mindoro have also failed to report this species. Although it seems to be extinct, there maystill be population on nearby islands or even on Ilin or Mindoro since it ispresumed to be difficult to catch, similar to other species in the genus.

Bibliography. Gerrie & Kennerley (20160), Heaney et al. (1998), Musser & Gordon (1981), Oliver et al. (1993), Pritchard (1989).