Maxomys pagensis

748.

Mentawai Archipelago Spiny Rat

Maxomys pagensis

French: Maxomys des Pagai / German: Mentawai-Rajah-Ratte / Spanish: Rata espinosa de Mentawai

Other common names: Mentawai Archipelago Leopoldamys, Mentawai Archipelago Maxomys, Pagai Spiny Rat

Taxonomy. Mus pagensis G. S. Miller, 1903,

off coast West Sumatra, Pulau Pagai Selattan (= South Pagai Island), Kepulauan Mentawai, Indonesia.

Maxomys pagensis forms a clade with M. rajah, with which it isa sister species, and M. panglima. It has been included as a subspecies of M. surifer. Monotypic.

Distribution. Siberut, Sipora, North Pagai, and South Pagai Is (Mentawai Is), off W Sumatra.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 170-218 mm, tail 163-204 mm, ear 22-25 mm, hind-foot 41-45 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Mentawai Archipelago Spiny Rat is large, with coarse and spiny pelage. Dorsum is ocherous and nearly black along back and lighter on sides, with brown wash on outer surfaces of hindlegs. Cheeks are dirty brownish buff. Venter is pale creamy buff, although some specimens have light ocherous band around neck. Feet are whitish and slightly dark brown dorsally. Ears are rounded; vibrissae are long and black. Tail is less than 100% of headbody length and distinctly bicolored, blackish brown above and whitish below. Skull is similar to that of the Indomalayan Spiny Rat (M. surifer). There are four pairs of mammae: one pectoral, one post-axillary, and one inguinal.

Habitat. Tropical primary lowland forest.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Mentawai Archipelago Spiny Ratis terrestrial and probably nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Mentawai Archipelago Spiny Rat has a relatively small distribution and is threatened by habitat destruction from logging. It occurs in Siberut National Park on Siberut. Additional research is needed to fully understand its natural history, taxonomy, and threats.

Bibliography. Achmadi et al. (2013), Clayton & Kennerley (2016e), Corbet & Hill (1992), Musser (1979), Musser & Carleton (2005), Musser et al. (1979), Steppan & Schenk (2017), Wilting et al. (2012).