Cloud Rat

The cloud rats or cloudrunners are a tribe (Phloeomyini) of arboreal and nocturnal herbivorous rodents endemic to the cloud forests of the Philippines.

They belong to the family Muridae and include five genera: Batomys (hairy-tailed rats), Carpomys (dwarf cloud rats), Crateromys (bushy-tailed cloud rats), Musseromys (Luzon tree mice), and Phloeomys (giant cloud rats). They range in size from as large as 50 cm (20 in) to as small as 74 mm (2.9 in). Cloud rats are threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting. Several species are endangered or critically endangered.

Cloud rats
Temporal range: Middle pleistocene - Recent
Cloud Rat
Northern Luzon slender-tailed cloud rat (Phloeomys pallidus) at the Cincinnati Zoo
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Subfamily: Murinae
Tribe: Phloeomyini
Alston, 1876
Genera
Diversity
21 species

Description

Cloud rats are characterized by long furry or hairy tails and short hind limbs with grasping feet. They spend most of their time in the canopy of cloud forests, hence the name "cloud rat" or "cloudrunner". They are believed to be entirely herbivorous, primarily eating leaves, buds, bark, fruits, and seeds. Their ecology and behavior are poorly known. Cloud rats belonging to the genera Batomys, Crateromys, and Phloeomys are typically large, with the largest species being Phloeomys pallidus (reaching up to 2.7 kg (6.0 lb) in weight) and Crateromys schadenbergi (reaching up to 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) in weight). They measure from around 20 to 50 cm (7.9 to 19.7 in) in length. Members of the genera Carpomys and Batomys are smaller, with a maximum weight of 165 g (0.364 lb) and 225 g (0.496 lb), respectively. The smallest are members of the recently-described genus Musseromys, with a recorded weight of only 15.5 g (0.034 lb) and body lengths of only 74 to 84 mm (2.9 to 3.3 in).

Conservation

Several species of cloud rats are classified as endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN. Cloud rats are primarily threatened with habitat loss and human encroachment due to the extensive deforestation of the Philippines. Larger species of cloud rats (Phloeomys and Crateromys spp.) are also hunted for food, usually by hunter-gatherer tribes in the mountains of the Philippines. In some areas, they are the most commonly hunted species, and hundreds of animals are estimated to be killed annually. Hunting or possession of wildlife is illegal in the Philippines, under Republic Act 9147 (the Wildlife Protection and Conservation Law of 2001), but enforcement still remains problematic.

Several zoos keep and breed cloud rats in captivity; including the London Zoo, Prague Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Bronx Zoo, Wingham Wildlife Park, Chester Zoo, and the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.

Taxonomy

The cloud rat clade (the "Phloeomys division", sensu Musser & Carleton, 2005), now treated as the tribe Phloeomyini (LeCompte et al., 2008), includes the closely related genera Batomys (hairy-taled rats), Carpomys (dwarf cloud rats), Crateromys (bushy-tailed cloud rats), Musseromys (Luzon tree mice), and Phloeomys (giant cloud rats). They belong to the subfamily Murinae of the family Muridae (rats and mice).

Cloud Rat 
Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat (Batomys hamiguitan) from Mount Hamiguitan in southeastern Mindanao

Note: Extinct species known only from fossils are marked with

See also

References

Tags:

Cloud Rat DescriptionCloud Rat ConservationCloud Rat TaxonomyCloud Rat

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