778.

Elegant Margareta Rat

Margaretamys elegans

French: Rat élégant / German: Elegante Margareta-Ratte / Spanish: Rata margarita elegante

Other common names: Elegant Margaretamys

Taxonomy. Margaretamys elegans Musser, 1981,

Gunung Nokilalaki, 1980 m, central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

In a phylogenetic study by M. Pages and colleagues in 2016, M. elegans was sister to M. christinae . Both are in the Dacnomys division. In the most recent phylogenetic study by S. J. Steppan and J. J. Schenk in 2017, M. elegans is well-nested in Rattini . Monotypic.

Distribution. Mt Nokilalaki, C Sulawesi and a single record farther S of the Mamasa area.Likely to occur on other montane regions of C Sulawesi.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 165-197 mm, tail 220-286 mm, hindfoot 35— 39 mm, ear 23-27 mm; weight 85-150 g. The Elegant Margareta Rat is the most squirrel-like species of rnin with thick, long, very soft pelage and long guard hairs. It is much bigger than Beccari’s Margareta Rat ( M. beccarii), with much longer tail. Upperparts are brown, mixed with tawny along sides and black on top; underparts are grayish white. Eyes are surrounded by blackish brown hair, extending to muzzle, forming mask. Rostral vibrissae and above are very long, some reaching 83 mm. Ears are small and translucent pale brown. Forefeet and hindfeet are solid dark brown, with white digits. Long tail is covered with long hairs, increasing in length toward tip, becoming penicillate on distal one-half, and ending with tufted tip. Tail resembles a long, slender, brown, and white feather plume. Basal part oftail is dark brown; distal part is white. Juveniles are more woolly than adults and have gray to grayish brown upperparts and smoky white underparts. Feet are paler than those of adults. Cranium is larger and more elongate than that of Beccari’s Margareta Rat. Females have three pairs of mammae. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 42, FN = 56 (females) and 57 (males).

Habitat. Lower and upper montane forest at elevations of 1500-2272 m, Food and Feeding. The Elegant Margareta Rat eats fruits from palms ( Pandanus, Pandanaceae), understory trees (Elaeocarpus, Elaecocarpaceae), and woody vines ( Vaccinium, Ericaceae), moths, and orthropterans (e.g. cicads and crickets).

Breeding. Litters of Elegant Margareta Rats have is 1-2 young.

Activity patterns. The Elegant Margareta Rat is terrestrial and arboreal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Elegant Margareta Rats run down trees, vines, and trunks head first, just like tree squirrels do. They are very quick and very quiet.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The Elegant Margareta Rat occurs in ¢.20,000 km?®.Its habitat is believed to be declining in extent, but it isnot believed to be severely fragmented.

Bibliography. Boitani et al. (2006), Mortelliti et al. (2012), Musser (1981a, 2014), Musser & Carleton (2005), Musser & Ruedas (2008d), Pages et al. (2016), Steppan & Schenk (2017).