Northern Luzon giant cloud rat
{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| image = Slender-tailed Cloud Rat.jpg
| genus = Phloeomys
| species = pallidus
| authority = Nehring, 1890
| range_map = Phloeomys pallidus distribution.png
| synonyms =
}}
The northern Luzon giant cloud rat (Phloeomys pallidus) or northern Luzon slender-tailed cloud rat, also known as bu-ot in Filipino, is a large species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is only found in Luzon, the Philippines.{{Cite journal|last=Oliver|display-authors=etal|year=1993|title=Cloud rats in the Philippines — preliminary report on distribution and status|journal=Oryx|volume=27|pages=41–48|doi=10.1017/s0030605300023942|doi-access=free}}
Appearance
This very large rodent weighs {{convert|1.9|-|2.6|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and is {{convert|75|-|77|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} long, including its tail. The colour of its relatively long pelage, which also covers the tail, is highly variable, but it is usually pale brown-grey or white with some dark brown or black patches. They often have a black mask and collar but can also be entirely white. The only other member of the genus Phloeomys, the southern Luzon giant cloud rat (P. cumingi), has a more southerly distribution, is generally smaller (although with some overlap), and is entirely dark brown.{{Cite web| url=http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/philippine_mammals/species/SP_163.asp| title=Phloeomys cumingi| year=2010| publisher=Field Museum of Natural History, Synopsis of Philippine Mammals|access-date=4 January 2020}} However, the occasional brown Northern Luzon giant cloud rat has been reported in the Mountain Province, and the taxonomic limits between the two Phloeomys are not fully resolved.
Distribution and habitat
File:At New York, USA 2017 354.jpg
The northern Luzon giant cloud rat lives at elevations between sea level and {{convert|2200|m|ft}}.{{Cite web| url=http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/philippine_mammals/species/SP_164.asp| title=Phloeomys pallidus| date=2010| publisher=Field Museum of Natural History, Synopsis of Philippine Mammals|access-date=10 June 2011}} In some areas, it overlaps with the rarer giant bushy-tailed cloud rat, but that species mainly occurs at higher altitudes than the northern Luzon giant cloud rat.
Behavior
The northern Luzon giant cloud rat is nocturnal and feeds on various types of vegetation. Because of its relatively large size, it does not enter traditional small-mammal traps, which has limited research in the species.{{Cite journal|last=Duya|display-authors=etal|year=2011|title=Chapter 4: Diversity of Small Mammals in Montane and Mossy Forests on Mount Cetaceo, Cagayan Province, Luzon|journal=Fieldiana: Life and Earth Sciences|volume=2|pages=88–95|doi=10.3158/2158-5520-2.1.88|s2cid=129507111}}
Reproduction
Northern Luzon giant cloud rats often live in pairs with one or two dependent young. They give birth in hollow boles of trees (standing or fallen) or in burrows in the ground. The sperm head of northern Luzon giant cloud rat has a short apical hook, with the sperm tail attached off-center basally.{{Cite journal|last=Breed|display-authors=etal|year=2010|title=The spermatozoon of the Old Endemic Australo-Papuan and Philippine rodents--its morphological diversity and evolution|journal=Acta Zoologica|volume=91|issue=3|pages=279–294|doi=10.1111/j.1463-6395.2009.00407.x|doi-access=free}} The tail of the sperm is about 127 μm long.
Conservation status
The northern Luzon giant cloud rat can cause extensive damage to rice crops and are sometimes considered a pest.{{Cite book|title=Philippine Rats: ecology and management|author1=Singleton|author2=Ravindra|author3=Sebastian|name-list-style=amp|publisher=PhilRice|year=2008}} They are regularly hunted for food in the Sierra Madre.{{Cite journal|last=Duya|display-authors=etal|year=2007|title=Report on a Survey of Mammals of the Sierra Madre Rance, Luzon Island, Philippines|journal=Banwa|volume=4|pages=41–68}} It has been extirpated from some regions because of hunting, but overall it appears to be able to withstand hunting pressure and in general it remains common and widespread.
See also
References
{{Commons category|Phloeomys pallidus}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Murinae (Oenomys–Pithecheir)}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1761999}}
Category:Endemic fauna of the Philippines
Category:Rodents of the Philippines