Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat
{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Late Pleistocene|Recent}}
| image = Diplothrix legata Stuffed specimen.jpg
| image_caption = Stuffed specimen. Exhibit in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan.
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Diplothrix
| species = legata
| authority = (Thomas, 1906)
| synonyms = {{Specieslist
|Diplothrix legatus|
|Lenothrix legata|Thomas, 1906
}}
| synonyms_ref =[https://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/106283 Diplothrix legata]. pir.uniprot.org
}}
The Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat or Ryukyu rat (Diplothrix legata), also known as the rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only extant species in the genus Diplothrix and is endemic to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Its natural habitat consists of temperate forests.
Conservation
The species is threatened by habitat loss, predation by feral cats (with studies finding that the rat contributed 23% of feral cat's diet on Amami-Oshima),{{cite journal|last1=Shionosaki|first1=K.|last2=Yamada|first2=F.|last3=Ishikawa|first3=T.|last4=Shibata|first4=S.|year=2015|title=Feral cat diet and predation on endangered endemic mammals on a biodiversity hot spot (Amami–Ohshima Island, Japan)|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=42|issue=4|doi=10.1071/WR14161}} and introduced nematode and helminth parasites.{{cite journal|last1=Okano|first1=T.|last2=Haga|first2=A.|last3=Mizuno|first3=E.|last4=Onuma|first4=M.|last5=Nakaya|first5=Y.|last6=Nagamine|first6=T.|year=2014|title=Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda: Metastrongylidae) in the Ryukyu Islands Tree Rat (Diplothrix legata)|journal=Journal of Wildlife Diseases|volume=50|issue=2|pages=322–325|doi=10.7589/2013-03-050|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|last1=Tokiwa|first1=T.|last2=Yoshimura|first2=H.|last3=Ito|first3=K.|last4=Chou|first4=S.|last5=Yamamoto|first5=M.|year=2020|title=Alien parasitic infections in the endangered Ryukyu long-furred rat (Diplothrix legata) on Amami-Oshima Island, Japan|journal=Parasitology International|volume=76|pages=102058|doi=10.1016/j.parint.2020.102058}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{MSW3 Muroidea | id = 13001337 | page = }}
External links
{{Commons category|position=left|Diplothrix legata}}
{{Murinae (Rattus)}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q302937}}
Category:Endemic mammals of Japan
Category:Endemic fauna of the Ryukyu Islands
Category:Mammals described in 1906
Category:Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas
Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Murinae-stub}}