Madagascar's Rodentia
Madagascar has fewer rodent species than might be expected because the islands slightly larger than Madagascar like Borneo and New Guine support 55 to 60 species.
31 species in two families (Nesomyidae and Muridae) have been described from Madagascar.
The endemic rodents of Madagascar belong to the subfamily Nesomyinae with 8 genera.
- Brachytarsomys
- Eliurus
- Gymnuromys
- Hypogeomys
- Macrotarsomys
- Monticolomys
- Nesomys
- and Voalavo
These genera are spread within 28 species.
The second subfamily Murinae is represented by the three introduced species :
- Rattus rattus
- Rattus norvegicus
- and Mus musculus.
According of the IUCN Red List of Species (2015):
- 07 species are threatened
- 06 Endangered
- and 01 Vulnerable.
List and classifications of the Madagascar's Rodentia
| N | Family | Species | Common name | Distribution - Habitat | Red List | Synonyms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Brachytarsomys albicauda * | White-tailed tree rat | Humid forest of the E and N | LC | |
| 2 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Brachytarsomys villosa * | Hairy-tailed tree rat | Humid forest of the far North | EN | B. albicauda villosa |
| 3 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Brachyuromys betsileoensis * | Betsileo short-tailed rat | Humid forest and open areas of the E and Central Highlands | LC | |
| 4 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Brachyuromys ramirohitra * | Gregarious short-tailed rat | Humid forest of the E | LC | |
| 5 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus antsingy * | Tsingy tufted-tailed rat | Dry forest of the Central W | DD | |
| 6 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus carletoni * | Ankarana Special Reserve tufted-tailed rat | Dry forest of the far N | NA | Eliurus antsingy (in part) |
| 7 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus danieli * | Daniel's tufted-tailed rat | Dry forest of the Central SW | DD | |
| 8 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus ellermani * | Ellerman's tufted-tailed rat | Humid forest of NE and far N | DD | |
| 9 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus grandidieri * | Grandidier's tufted-tailed rat | Humid forest of E and far N | LC | |
| 10 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus majori * | Major's tufted-tailed rat | Humid forest of E, Central Highlands and far N | LC | Eliurus myoxinus majori |
| 11 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus minor * | Lesser tufted-tailed rat | Humid forest of E and far N | LC | |
| 12 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus myoxinus * | Western (Dormouse) tufted-tailed rat | Dry forest of the W and humid forest of far N | LC | |
| 13 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus penicillatus * | White-tipped tufted-tailed rat | Humid forest of the Central E | EN | Eliurus myoxinus penicillatus |
| 14 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus petteri * | Petter's tufted-tailed rat | Humid forest of the Central E | VU | |
| 15 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus tanala * | Tanala tufted-tailed rat | Humid forest of the E, Central Highlands and far N | LC | Eliurus myoxinus tanala |
| 16 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus tsingimbato * | Tsingimbato tufted-tailed rat | Dry forest of the Central W | NA | Eliurus antsingy (in part) |
| 17 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Eliurus webbi * | Webb's tufted-tailed rat | Humid forest of the E, Central Highlands and far N | LC | Eliurus myoxinus webbi |
| 18 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Gymnuromys roberti * | Voalavoanala | Humid forest of the E | LC | Gymnuromys bastardi |
| 19 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Hypogeomys antimena * | Giant jumping rat | Dry forest of the Central W | EN | |
| 20 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Macrotarsomys bastardi * | Western Big-footed mouse | Dry forest of the W | LC | Macrotarsomys occidentalis |
| 21 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Macrotarsomys ingens * | Lon-tailed Big-footed mouse | Dry forest of the W | EN | |
| 22 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Macrotarsomys petteri * | Petter's Big-footed mouse | Dry forest of the extreme SW | DD | |
| 23 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Monticolomys koopmani * | Malagasy mountain mouse | Humid forest of the E and far N | LC | |
| 24 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Nesomys audeberti * | Lowland red forest rat | Humid forest of the E | LC | Nesomys rufus audeberti |
| 25 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Nesomys lambertoni * | Westerrn red forest rat | Dry forest of the Central W | EN | Nesomys rufus lambertoni |
| 26 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Nesomys rufus * | Eastern red forest rat | Humid forest of the E and far N | LC | |
| 27 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Voalavo antsahabehensis * | Eastern voalavo | Humid forest of the Central E | EN | |
| 28 | Nesomyidae (Nesomyinae) | Voalavo gymnocaudus * | Northern voalavo or Naked-tailed voalavo | Humid forest of the far North | LC | |
| 29 | Muridae (Murinae) | Rattus rattus** | Black Rat | Intoduit | LC | |
| 30 | Muridae (Murinae) | Rattus norvegicus** | Brown Rat | Intoduit | LC | |
| 31 | Muridae (Murinae) | Mus musculus** | House Mouse | Intoduit | LC |
IUCN Red List:
CR: Critically Endengered (The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild)
EN: Endangered (The species is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild)
VU: Vulnerable (The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild)
NT: Near Threatened (The species does not currently qualify as being at high risk of extinction but it is likely to do so in the future)
LC: Least Concern (The species is not currently at risk of extinction in the wild)
DD: Data Deficient (There is inadequate information to assess the risk of extinction for this species)
NE: Not yet Evaluated
Distribution
* : Endemic species
**: Introduced species