764.

Lampobatang Hill Rat

Bunomys coelestis

French: Bunomys du Lampobattang / German: Lampobatang-Sulawesi-Bergratte / Spanish: rata de colina de Lampobatang

Other common names: Heavenly Hill Rat, Lampobatang Bunomys

Taxonomy. Mus coelestis Thomas, 1896,

Bonthain Peak (Gunung Lampobatang), 6000 ft (= 1830 m), south-western Sulawe-si, Indonesia.

Bunomys coelestis is in the B. chrysocomus species group within Bunomys and is sister to B. chrysocomus . Monotypic.

Distribution. Mt Lampobatang, SW Sulawesi.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 147- 179 mm, tail 136-165 mm, ear 21-25 mm, hindfoot 35-39 mm. Nown data are available for body weight. The Lampobatang Hill Rat is small and compact, with long muzzled and very long, soft, woolly, and thick pelage and short dark guard hairs. Dorsum is rich dark brown, with buffy speckling and hairs that have dark brown and buffy bands. Sides are slightly paler. Venteris dark grayish white sometimes tinged with buff, rich buffy dark gray, or ocherous gray. Feet are brown dorsally, with unpigmented hair, and have white digits; front claws are long and sharp. Ears are sparsely covered in short hair, appearing naked, and are dark brown. Tail is ¢.95% of head-body length and dark brown dorsally to tip and white or white speckled with brown ventrally to tip. Skull is gracile, with long rostrum, moderately wide interorbital, and deep braincase. The tiny fur mite Listrophoroides cucullatus has been recorded from the Lampobatang Hill Rat. There are two pairs of inguinal mammae.

Habitat. Cool, wet primary montane rainforest formations at elevations of 1800-2500 m.

Food and Feeding. Similarly to the Common Hill Rat ( B. chrysocomus), the Lampobatang Hill Rat probably eats earthworms, snails, arthropods, small vertebrates, and some fruit.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Lampobatang Hill Rat is probably nocturnal and terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Known distribution of the Lampobatang Hill Ratis barely over 100 km?, and although it is common there, its population has apparently decreased.

Bibliography. Musser (1991, 2014), Musser & Carleton (2005), Ruedas, Lunde & Musser (2008).