Melomys platyops

Melomys platyops (Thomas, 1906). Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 17:327.

TYPE LOCALITY: SE Papua New Guinea, Central Prov., head of Aroa River.

DISTRIBUTION: New Guinea, lowlands and midmountain altitudes both north and south of the Central Cordillera, and on islands; in the north from Nabire (coastal lowlands) in NW Irian Jaya to the east end of Papua New Guinea, then west through S New Guinea to the Utakwa River in SW Irian Jaya. Also occurs on islands of Yapen (Japen) and Biak in Irian Jaya; New Britain in the Bismarck Arch.; and the isls of Normanby, Fergusson, and Goodenough in the d'Entrecasteaux Arch. Altitudinal range from sea level to 900 m.

SYNONYMS: fuscus, intermedius, jobiensis, mamberanus.

COMMENTS: This species was thought to range primarily throughout N New Guinea (see map in Flannery, 1990b: 224) but our reidentification of museum specimens and holotypes reveals otherwise. The form intermedius was originally described as a subspecies of M. moncktoni (see Riimmler, 1938), but type series from Utakwa River (type locality) in SW Irian Jaya have only one hair per scale (all M. moncktoni have three hairs per scale), as does M. platyops, and their cranial, dental, and other external traits are also characteristic of platyops, not moncktoni. Most of the 25 topotypes Tate (1951:297) identified as M. moncktoni sturti from the lower Fly River are also examples of M. platyops. Geographic variation in body size exists among samples of M. platyops, and a careful systematic revision of the species is required to assess its significance.