Batomys uragon
| Batomys uragon | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Batomys |
| Species: | B. uragon |
| Binomial name | |
|
Batomys uragon Balete et al., 2015 |
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Batomys uragon (proposed common name Mt. Isarog hairy-tailed rat) is a species of cloud rat endemic to the Philippines. It was first discovered in 1988, and the full description was published in 2015, in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. It is so far found only on Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. The first specimen was collected from Mount Isarog at the southern side of the island. Other 14 specimens were later collected. It is the fourth species of mammal (so far known) living only on that mountain. The new species was described by Danilo S. Balete, Eric A. Rickart, Lawrence R. Heaney, and Sharon A. Jansa. It was classified as new species based on DNA analyses and structural descriptions (morphometrc analyses). It is different from its closest relative, the Luzon hairy-tailed rat (Batomys granti), in its cytochrome b sequence, moderate body size, colour patterns, and skull structure.
The specific name uragon is a Bicol word, the language of the local people, the Bicolanos in Luzon. Having no direct English rendering, the word is loosely translated as "possessing great ability, vitality, or power". This is to attribute the species for its dispersal ability, persistence, and uniqueness to the Bicol Peninsula.
The first specimen (now the holotype) of B. uragon was collected by Eric A. Rickart, Curator of Vertebrates at the Natural History Museum of Utah, on 25 April 1988. It is an old adult male. He found it while in the faunal expedition at Mount Isarog, about 4 km from the Naga City in Camarines Sur Province. The expedition was funded by U.S. National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution. The rat was in the mossy forest, at about 1,750 m above the sea level. Later, 14 specimens were collected from around the same region. The specimens are deposited at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. DNA studies were performed by Sharon A. Jansa.
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