Cloud rat


The cloud rats or cloudrunners are a tribe of arboreal and nocturnal herbivorous rodents endemic to the cloud forests of the Philippines. They belong to the family Muridae and include five genera: Batomys , Carpomys, Crateromys, Musseromys, and Phloeomys. They range in size from as large as to as small as. Cloud rats are threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting. Several species are endangered or critically endangered.

Description

Cloud rats are characterized by long furry or hairy tails and short hind limbs with grasping feet. They spend most of their time in the canopy of cloud forests, hence the name "cloud rat" or "cloudrunner". They are believed to be entirely herbivorous, primarily eating leaves, buds, bark, fruits, and seeds. Their ecology and behavior are poorly known. Cloud rats belonging to the genera Batomys, Crateromys, and Phloeomys are typically large, with the largest species being Phloeomys pallidus and Crateromys schadenbergi. They measure from around in length. Members of the genera Carpomys and Batomys are smaller, with a maximum weight of and, respectively. The smallest are members of the recently described genus Musseromys, with a recorded weight of only and body lengths of only.

Conservation

Several species of cloud rats are classified as endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN. Cloud rats are primarily threatened with habitat loss and human encroachment due to the extensive deforestation of the Philippines. Larger species of cloud rats are also hunted for food, usually by hunter-gatherer tribes in the mountains of the Philippines. In some areas, they are the most commonly hunted species, and hundreds of animals are estimated to be killed annually. Hunting or possession of wildlife is illegal in the Philippines, under Republic Act 9147, but enforcement still remains problematic.
Several zoos keep and breed cloud rats in captivity; including the London Zoo, Prague Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Bronx Zoo, Wingham Wildlife Park, Chester Zoo, and the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.

Taxonomy

The cloud rat clade, now treated as the tribe Phloeomyini, includes the closely related genera Batomys , Carpomys, Crateromys, Musseromys, and Phloeomys. They belong to the subfamily Murinae of the family Muridae.
File:Batomys hamiguitan.jpg|thumb|upright|Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat from Mount Hamiguitan in southeastern Mindanao
File:Rat des nuages.jpg|upright|thumb|Northern Luzon giant cloud rat in Jardin des plantes in Paris
Note: Extinct species known only from fossils are marked with