A new genus and species of shrew-like mouse (Rodentia: Muridae) from a new center of endemism in eastern Mindanao, Philippines

Dakota M. Rowsey, Mariano Roy M. Duya, Jayson C. Ibañez, Sharon A. Jansa, Eric A. Rickart, Lawrence R. Heaney

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Philippine archipelago hosts an exceptional diversity of murid rodents that have diversified following several independent colonization events. Here, we report the discovery of a new species of rodent from Mt. Kampalili on eastern Mindanao Island. Molecular and craniodental analyses reveal this species as a member of a Philippine "New Endemic"clade consisting of Tarsomys, Limnomys, and Rattus everetti (tribe Rattini). This new species of "shrew-mouse"is easily distinguished from its relatives in both craniodental and external characteristics including a long, narrow snout; small eyes and ears; short, dark, dense fur dorsally and ventrally; stout body with a tapering, visibly haired tail shorter than head and body length; stout forepaws; bulbous and nearly smooth braincase; narrow, tapering rostrum; short incisive foramina; slender mandible; and narrow, slightly opisthodont incisors. This new genus and species of murid rodent illustrates that murids of the tribe Rattini have exhibited greater species and morphological diversification within the Philippines than previously known and provides evidence that Mt. Kampalili represents a previously unrecognized center of mammalian endemism on Mindanao Island that is deserving of conservation action.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1259-1277
Number of pages19
JournalJournal of Mammalogy
Volume103
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Mammalogists.

Keywords

  • Mt. Kampalili
  • biogeography
  • conservation
  • diversification
  • endemism
  • montane forest
  • mossy forest
  • oceanic island
  • taxonomy

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article

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