Compedium of enigmatic creeping vermin

 Compilation of mysterious rats and mice 

    Although in our homes they seem like disgusting and even profane animals. The truth is that rats are one of the most interesting and curious types of mammals that can exist, there being so many species that it is difficult to count them all and among so much variety there are some cases of mysterious rats that were lost in time and today we will analyze some.

        Guadalcanal rat 

     With the proposed scientific name Uromys porculus, it is a species of rodent endemic to the Solomon Islands, known from a single known specimen, being described in 1904 by Oldfield Thomas. 

It is only known from one skull, collected between 1886 and 1888, this being clearly elongated and narrow, but its molars are so worn that few details of the crown remain, although it resembles other members of the genus uromys, although its taxonomic status has been subject of debate, being assigned to Uromys and subsequently transferred to Melomys, before being placed once again on Uromys, once again on Melomys, until it was returned to Uromys where it is currently located.

The species has not been seen since this collection and there is no local knowledge of the species, indicating that it is very likely extinct and there are doubts about the actual existence of this animal. 

         candango mouse 

     Proposed name Juscelinomys candango was a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. Endemic to Brazil. 

The candango mouse was dark in color with individual gray hairs protruding from its fur with orange or black tips giving it red streaks with dark coloration, it has small ears that are completely furry on both the outer and inner surfaces, and it has a short tail. which widens towards the base and is covered with hair. 

 Only the location of the discovery of the only specimen is known, the Zoobotanico Park, Brazil, where the only record was made in 1960, it is considered extinct as the city of Brasilia developed in what was its habitat and it is absolutely not known. nothing about him. 

     large bush mouse 

   Scientifically named Grammomys gigas, it is a species of mouse in the genus Grammomys. 

The type specimen, an old male with worn molars, has a total length of 132 mm and a tail of 201 mm, the ear length is 19 mm and the hind leg length is 26.5 mm. The length of the skull is given as 35.5 mm and the width of the skull as 16.9 mm, having a reddish-orange color, with olive yellow tones. 

Another specimen was reported from the Kasituka region west of Mount Kenya, but no further information is available about it, little is known about its habitat and way of life, it is only known that the species is arboreal and inhabits tropical montane forests. humid and high-altitude scrub, habitat requirements are probably similar to those of the sympatric African bush mouse. 

Because nothing has been known about its population for more than 100 years, it is not known if it still exists. 

 

   Cloud Rat of Ilin Island   

   Scientifically named Crateromys paulus, it is a rodent from the cloud rat family and from the island of Ilin in the Philippines. 

Well known by the natives, receiving the name siyang, it is described as an animal with fluffy fur and a bushy tail that may have emerged from the hollows of trees at night to feed on fruits and leaves, it is known from a only specimen, collected on April 4, 1953 and presented to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, but because the island's forests have been destroyed by human activity, the cloudrunner is among the 25 "most lost" species searched" that are the focus of Global Wildlife Conservation's "Search for Lost Species" initiative, although it is currently searched for on the nearby island of mindoro. 

jumping mouse  off Darling Downs  

  Scientifically named Notomys mordax, it is an extinct species of rodent in the family Muridae that was once known to inhabit the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia.

 It is known from a skull, so its physical appearance is totally unknown, found in the aforementioned region, since its discovery in 1922 it has not been seen again and it is believed that predators such as foxes and domestic cats could have forced the extinction of this species, everything about this species is unknown. 

rat with a bushy tail and big teeth 

     Scientifically named Batomys dentatus, it is a rodent endemic to the Philippine island of Luzon in the subfamily of Old World mice. It was 380 mm long including the tail, the length of the tail was 185 mm and the hind legs were 36 mm long, there is no information on the weight, the upper part is covered with long, dense, slightly woolly colored fur. dark brown, with slightly lighter fur underneath on the bushy tail, the front 2/3 are dark brown and the tip is white, the vibrissae reach behind the ears when folded back, and the face is marked by a naked eye ring.

It is only known from a specimen captured in 1907 and the first description was in 1911 by Gerrit Smith Miller, whose report was located in northern Luzon in a mountain range at an altitude of about 2130 meters, the region is covered by forests. humid montanes with oaks, although searches were carried out, the 2001 and 2003 expeditions did not find more specimens, the search method used may not have been sufficient to find it. 

vangun rat 

   Scientifically named Uromys vika, it is a species of giant rodent of the Muridae family, endemic to the Solomon Islands in Oceania, being four times larger than the common rat. 

The story of its discovery is very curious, since it was discovered when the locals cut down a tree and the animal suddenly fell to the ground, it was when they noticed that it was the rodent that for generations the settlers had talked about. Fortunately for the settlers, in the island was Tyrone Lavery, a mammal specialist who for a long time tried to find it; The fall of the rat after cutting the tree took its life when it fell to the ground, however, the mammal specialist preserved it and sent it to the Queensland Museum, in Australia. 

It was described as a 45 cm animal, having a long, scaly tail that theoirza may be because it is used to balance while walking between the treetops. Its hind legs and claws curved to adapt to life in trees and it was identified as a new species based on features of its skull, skeleton and a DNA analysis. 

However, due to deforestation on the islands, they have not found the specimen again and it is believed that its population would be critically threatened. The hope lies in that one day, after a sporadic moment, they will find a new specimen of the rat. giant to study it in greater depth.

 

mother mary mouse 

     Proposed name oryzomyz nelzoni, it was a rodent from the family of semi-aquatic rats, possibly endemic to Maria Madre Island, in Nayarit, Mexico. 

Its first description in 1897 and 1898, was described as a large rat, with a tail longer than that of any other of its genus, it was polished ocher in color, its spots being paler towards the front and on the flanks. On the head and back, the blackish hairs somewhat darkened the general color, the underparts were white with a lead color that was visible in some places. The ears were covered on both sides with sparse grayish hairs and their large hind legs, adapted for swimming, were sparsely covered with pale hairs.  

The length of the 4 known specimens was 282 to 344 mm, although it was distinguished by its large skull with wide and well-developed incisors, with a strong front part, which is why it is believed that it fed on plant material such as weeds, fruits and seeds, and more rarely from animals such as fish and invertebrates. These were found only in a sacchar near a spring atop Isla María Madre, the largest of the Maria Islands, at an elevation of 1,800 feet, although this was already rare, it is now considered extinct. 

Today its taxonomic status and existence are uncertain, as it is believed that it could have been a confusion, although most authors have considered it as a distinct species, but it has also been classified as a mere subspecies or morph of others, being an issue that is pending resolution .

big jumping mouse 

    Proposed scientific name Notomys robustus, it is a mysterious type of rodent; possibly endemic to the flinders ranges, southern Australia.  

It is known only from the skulls found in owl pellets, where it was found together with some granules that included bones from the introduced domestic mouse, so it is believed that it could have survived until the second half of the 19th century. Judging by the skull, it seems to have been relatively large and Due to the location of the deposits, it is assumed that it preferred clay soils to sandy ones. 

Absolutely nothing is known about it, as it seems to have escaped by chance into the collection of naturalists and scientists at the beginning of the 19th century, and the cause of its extinction is unknown, although due to its resemblance to other mice this is in doubt.  

indefatigable Galapagos mouse 

   Scientifically named Nesoryzomys indefessus, it was a type of mouse native to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, especially the Santa Cruz and Baltra islands. 

It is described as a small species, with relatively long and dense fur, with a pale brown back, being bi or tricolored, always with a gray base, having different shades on the body, having an elongated skull with a rostrum. long and narrow, there is no information about this species, given that its first and last record was in 1934, it is believed that it became extinct due to the extinction of black rats, but its validity is also doubted, without knowing if it is a species as such or a subspecies. 

Giant pomegranate rat 

     We end with the most mysterious case, with the proposed scientific name Megalomys camerhogne, it is a species of rice rat of the megalomys genus endemic to San Andres, in Granada island. 

It is known only from fragmentary remains, which date from approximately 400 to 1650 AD. Although there are no historical records of its appearance in Granada, it is likely that the species survived until European contact in the 16th century. Its extinction may be related to competition with introduced black rats and hunting by invasive predators, its only remains are poor: four lower jaws, one of which still holds the first molar; two isolated first molars; an incisor; and more than a dozen postcranial bones, all fragmentary, so its validity is controversial and everything about it is a mystery, since its appearance, behavior and affinities are not known. 

This has been a somewhat long article but talking about hypothetical rodents is very extensive since this family is so large that it is difficult to cover so many species in a single post, so possibly many more rarer and more interesting cases in the future, thank you For reading I hope you follow me, I try very hard to do this and bring you quality content, thank you for your support.

 

[[[LINKS OF INTEREST ]]]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalcanal_rat

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candango_mouse

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_thicket_rat

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilin_Island_cloudrunner

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darling_Downs_hopping_mouse

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large-toothed_hairy-tailed_rat

https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uromys_vika

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oryzomys_nelsoni

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_hopping_mouse

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesoryzomys_indefessus

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalomys_camerhogne