Maxomys

Maxomys
Maxomys
Maxomys surifer
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Subfamily: Murinae
Genus: Maxomys
Sody, 1936
Type species
Mus bartelsii
Jentink, 1910
species

Maxomys alticola
Maxomys baeodon
Maxomys bartelsii
Maxomys dollmani
Maxomys hellwaldii
Maxomys hylomyoides
Maxomys inas
Maxomys inflatus
Maxomys moi
Maxomys musschenbroekii
Maxomys ochraceiventer
Maxomys pagensis
Maxomys panglima
Maxomys rajah
Maxomys surifer
Maxomys wattsi
Maxomys whiteheadi

Maxomys is a genus of mice, widespread in Southeast Asia. They are mid-sized rodents, similar to rats, that live on the ground of tropical rainforests. There they build nests, padded with fallen leaves from trees. They feed on roots, fallen fruit, and other plants, as well as insects. All species are shy and avoid food from humans.

The genus Maxomys was originally considered a subgenus of Rattus, the rat genus. When it became established as its own genus in the 1960s, Maxomys was often combined with the genera Niviventer and Leopoldamys. In the currently accepted taxonomy, Musser, Marshall, and Boeadi established Maxomys in 1979.

List of species

Genus Maxomys - rajah rats

Further reading

  • Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
  • G.G. Musser, J.T. Marshall Jr. & B. Boeadi: Definition and contents of the Sundaic genus Maxomys (Rodentia, Muridae). In: Journal of Mammalogy 1979, Bd. 60, S. 592-606.

References

  • Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894-1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article on the German Wikipedia.