Review of Moluccan Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae) with description of four new species
Four new species of Rattus are described from the Moluccan islands (Maluku) of Indonesia: Rattus taliabuensis and R. feileri, both from the island of Taliabu, and R. halmaheraensis and R. obiensis from the islands of Halmahera and Obi, respectively. These descriptions are presented as part of a taxo...
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| Format: | Article |
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Australian Museum
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Records of the Australian Museum |
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| _version_ | 1797392993431322624 |
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| author | Pierre-Henri Fabre Roberto Portela Miguez Mary Ellen Holden Yuli S. Fitriana Gono Semiadi Guy G. Musser Kristofer M. Helgen |
| author_facet | Pierre-Henri Fabre Roberto Portela Miguez Mary Ellen Holden Yuli S. Fitriana Gono Semiadi Guy G. Musser Kristofer M. Helgen |
| author_sort | Pierre-Henri Fabre |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Four new species of Rattus are described from the Moluccan islands (Maluku) of Indonesia: Rattus taliabuensis and R. feileri, both from the island of Taliabu, and R. halmaheraensis and R. obiensis from the islands of Halmahera and Obi, respectively. These descriptions are presented as part of a taxonomic review of Moluccan Rattus based on all known specimens in museum collections worldwide. Morphological characters, molecular systematics, and geographical distributions are documented for each of these species. Using both morpho-anatomical and morphometric approaches, we found that the Maluku Islands support Rattus taxa with spiny fur and two distinct morphotypes (1) species with a long tail and short rostrum (R. morotaiensis, R. halmaheraensis, R. obiensis, R. feileri) and (2) species with a short tail and long rostrum (R. taliabuensis, R. feliceus, R. ceramicus, R. elaphinus). Most of the new Moluccan species belong to a clade that includes members of the R. xanthurus species group from Sulawesi and the Australo-Papuan Rattus lineages. Their phylogenetic relationships highlight the role of Wallacea as an important area for diversification of Rattus into the Australo-Papuan region. Finally, the morphologically distinctive taxon Nesoromys ceramicus from Seram was found to be sister species to R. feliceus, and we relegate Nesoromys into the synonymy of the genus Rattus. The close affinities between R. ceramicus and R. feliceus may be an example of in situ island speciation, which has not been observed for small mammals on other Maluku Islands.
Fabre, Pierre-Henri, Roberto Portela Miguez, Mary Ellen Holden, Yuli S. Fitriana, Gono Semiadi, Guy G. Musser, and Kristofer M. Helgen. 2023. Review of Moluccan Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae) with description of four new species. In Contributions to Mammalogy and Zooarchaeology of Wallacea, ed. K. M. Helgen and R. K. Jones. Records of the Australian Museum 75(5): 673–718. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:56:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-56fb18a465754ad7a97004e6388a0485 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0067-1975 2201-4349 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:56:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Australian Museum |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Records of the Australian Museum |
| spelling | doaj.art-56fb18a465754ad7a97004e6388a04852023-12-13T03:59:27ZengAustralian MuseumRecords of the Australian Museum0067-19752201-43492023-12-0175567371810.3853/j.2201-4349.75.2023.1783Review of Moluccan Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae) with description of four new speciesPierre-Henri Fabre0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3414-5625Roberto Portela Miguezhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3094-9949Mary Ellen HoldenYuli S. Fitriana1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7670-2496Gono Semiadi2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9351-9746Guy G. Musser3Kristofer M. Helgen4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8776-4040Université de MontpellierMuseum Zoologicum BogorienseMuseum Zoologicum BogorienseAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryAustralian Museum Research InstituteFour new species of Rattus are described from the Moluccan islands (Maluku) of Indonesia: Rattus taliabuensis and R. feileri, both from the island of Taliabu, and R. halmaheraensis and R. obiensis from the islands of Halmahera and Obi, respectively. These descriptions are presented as part of a taxonomic review of Moluccan Rattus based on all known specimens in museum collections worldwide. Morphological characters, molecular systematics, and geographical distributions are documented for each of these species. Using both morpho-anatomical and morphometric approaches, we found that the Maluku Islands support Rattus taxa with spiny fur and two distinct morphotypes (1) species with a long tail and short rostrum (R. morotaiensis, R. halmaheraensis, R. obiensis, R. feileri) and (2) species with a short tail and long rostrum (R. taliabuensis, R. feliceus, R. ceramicus, R. elaphinus). Most of the new Moluccan species belong to a clade that includes members of the R. xanthurus species group from Sulawesi and the Australo-Papuan Rattus lineages. Their phylogenetic relationships highlight the role of Wallacea as an important area for diversification of Rattus into the Australo-Papuan region. Finally, the morphologically distinctive taxon Nesoromys ceramicus from Seram was found to be sister species to R. feliceus, and we relegate Nesoromys into the synonymy of the genus Rattus. The close affinities between R. ceramicus and R. feliceus may be an example of in situ island speciation, which has not been observed for small mammals on other Maluku Islands. Fabre, Pierre-Henri, Roberto Portela Miguez, Mary Ellen Holden, Yuli S. Fitriana, Gono Semiadi, Guy G. Musser, and Kristofer M. Helgen. 2023. Review of Moluccan Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae) with description of four new species. In Contributions to Mammalogy and Zooarchaeology of Wallacea, ed. K. M. Helgen and R. K. Jones. Records of the Australian Museum 75(5): 673–718.biodiversitybiogeographymalukumolecular systematicsmorphologymurinaerattiniwallacea |
| spellingShingle | Pierre-Henri Fabre Roberto Portela Miguez Mary Ellen Holden Yuli S. Fitriana Gono Semiadi Guy G. Musser Kristofer M. Helgen Review of Moluccan Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae) with description of four new species Records of the Australian Museum biodiversity biogeography maluku molecular systematics morphology murinae rattini wallacea |
| title | Review of Moluccan Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae) with description of four new species |
| title_full | Review of Moluccan Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae) with description of four new species |
| title_fullStr | Review of Moluccan Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae) with description of four new species |
| title_full_unstemmed | Review of Moluccan Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae) with description of four new species |
| title_short | Review of Moluccan Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae) with description of four new species |
| title_sort | review of moluccan rattus rodentia muridae with description of four new species |
| topic | biodiversity biogeography maluku molecular systematics morphology murinae rattini wallacea |
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