48 
D.J. Kitchener, I. Maryanto 
Figure 4 
(Photograph by Dr^ Howt L ° rU ' Un ' ' S ‘ and " tyPe l0CalUy ° f C °°P™ ^ "° V 
to rump lengths of one set of these foetuses was c. 
14.5 and the other c. 19.2. Of the two females 
collected two weeks later on 2 May 1993, one had 
two near-term foetuses (crown to rump lengths 
30.2 and 39.3), with one in each uterine horn; the 
other female appeared to have recently given birth 
because its uterine horns were large, incompletely 
involuted and extremely vascular along their 
internal margin (although no clear implantation 
sites were apparent). The two males collected on 2 
May had scrotal testes with prominent 
epididymides. The male collected on 18 April 
(WAM M43823) was subadult and had small 
abdominal testes with dimensions of 4.1 x 6.5. 
Distribution 
Known only from the type locality, Lorulun, 
Yamdena Island. 
Remarks 
Melomys cooperae may be confused superficially 
with some of the forms which have been associated 
with M. leucogaster. A number of these forms are 
known from the type or a few specimens only, 
which we were not able to examine. We have, then, 
depended on the original type descriptions and 
measurements of most of these forms in Riimmier 
(1938), Tate (1951), Menzies and Dennis (1979), but 
made direct comparison with two reference 
specimens of M. 1. latipes from Papua New Guinea. 
The measurements presented below are of adult 
specimens only (mean, range, sample size). 
Melomys cooperae differs from M. 1. leucogaster in 
having a generally smaller body e.g., snout to vent 
(body) length 132 (118-140) 5 v. (154-195) 4; tail 
generally longer relative to its snout to vent length 
1.18 (1.08-1.25) 6 v. 0.95 (0.81-1.11) 5; pes length 
shorter 26.5 (24.8-28.1) 5 v. 31-36 (4). Skull smaller: 
e.g., zygomatic width smaller 18.2 (17.2-18.8) 6 v- 
21.4 (21.2-21.5) 2; interorbital breadth smaller 5.7 
(5.6-6.0) 6 v. 6.7 (6.7-6.7) 2; nasals shorter 12.2 
(11.4-13.1) 6 v. 13.9 (13.8-14.0) 2; palate shorter 
17.9 (17.2-18.8) 6 v. 21.1 (21.2-21.2) 2; palatal 
breadth inside M 1 narrower 3.1 (2.9-3.4) 6 v. 3.7 
(3.5-3.8) 2; bulla longer relative to palatal length 
0.291 (0.275-0.301) 5 v. 0.238 (0.231-0.245) 2; M 1 - 1 
crown length shorter 6.6 (6.5-6.9) 6 v. 7.5 (7.1-7.8) 
2 . 
It differs from M. leucogaster latipes in having a 
longer tail relative to its snout to vent (body) length 
1.16 (1.08-1.25) 5 v. 1.02 (1.01-1.03) 2; pes length 
shorter 26.5 (24.8-28.1) 5 v. 30.9 (29.7-32.0) 3; pes 
and manus paler, predominantly white rather than 
a darker brown dorsally; cheeks white to edge of 
eye which is encircled by dark coloured ring rather 
than as in latipes where cheek colour same as 
forehead and without dark circles around eyes 
Skull with rostrum longer and narrower, without 
marked inflations of posterolateral rostral bulbs 
such as occurs in latipes ; nasal terminates distaUy 
approximately level with anteromost face of 
premaxillary dorsal wing, rather than well 
