Mammals of the WorldSulawesi Soft-furred Rat
Eropeplus canus
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Muridae
- Genus
- Eropeplus
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- Indonesia
- Realm
- Australasia
About this species
- Habitat
- Montane forest
- Range
- Mountain localities on Sulawesi; 1,800–2,300m recorded
Eropeplus canus is the sole species in its genus and is more widely called the Sulawesi soft-furred rat, making this site's name Sulawesi Giant Rat potentially misleading. Taxonomic comparisons describe it as extremely similar to Lenomys meyeri in fur colour and texture, the tail's colour pattern, the fur extending over the tail base and the form of the skull. Its molar chewing surfaces, however, differ sharply (ITIS, citing Musser 1981).
The species is endemic to Sulawesi and known from only a small number of mountain localities. Published collection summaries place records between 1,800 and 2,300 m, making it a high-elevation forest rodent rather than a widespread lowland rat. Four animals examined during a 1992 medicozoological survey carried several described nematodes, evidence that much of the accessible species literature concerns taxonomy and parasites rather than behaviour, diet or reproduction (Hasegawa et al. 2014).
Description: Wildlife of sulawesi guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com)