SPECIES OF MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC AREA 117 



usually longer than head and body. The first toe on its hind 

 foot is opposable as in several other tree rats. The tree rats of 

 this group {Pogonomys) found on New Guinea and adjacent 

 islands have a prehensile tail, the tip of which curls upward. 



Two large Bushy-tailed Rats {Phlceomys and Crateromys) 

 are found in the northern Philippine Islands : Luzon, Mindoro, 

 and Marinduque. They are two feet or more in total length, 

 with the tail about three-fourths of the head and body length. 

 Their molars, especially those of Phlceomys, have cross-ridges 

 of more simple pattern, not very different from those of the 

 bandicoot rats. 



The indigenous Australian rats are far more diversified than 

 is generally realized. In addition to a number of distinct species 

 of Rattus (allied to house rats), Australia contains a number 

 of distinct genera fully as striking as are those characteristic 

 of New Guinea. 



Australian Native Mice (Pseudomys, Thetomys, Leggadina, 

 Gyomys) are about the size of house mice — some even smaller. 

 The color, depending on whether they live in forest or desert, 

 varies from dark to very pale gray, with underparts whitish. 

 They are distributed all over Australia. 



The Broad-toothed Rat {Mastacomys) is a large, dark-col- 

 ored, short-tailed species remotely related to other Australian 

 rats. It is found only in Victoria and Tasmania. 



The Thick-tailed Rats (Laomys) are characterized by the 

 pronounced swelling of their tails just beyond a very slender 

 constriction at the base. They occur in central and northwest 

 Australia. 



The White-tailed Rat (Zyzomys) is about eight inches long, 

 the tail four or four and one-half inches of this. The tail is 

 white, more thickly haired than usual among rats and has a 

 small tuft of hair at its end. 



The Rabbit Rats (Mesembriomys) are very large rats with 

 rather large ears and elongated feet. Several races occur. The 

 over-all size is twenty to twenty-three inches, with the tail twelve 



