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Cloud rats in the Philippines — preliminary report on distribution and status

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

W. L. R. Oliver ,
C. R. Cox ,
P. C. Gonzales  and
L. R. Heaney
W. L. R. Oliver
Affiliation:
28A Eaton Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR4 6PZ, UK
C. R. Cox
Affiliation:
9 Markham Square, London SW3 4UY, UK.
P. C. Gonzales
Affiliation:
Division of Zoology, National Museum of the Philippines, PO Box 2659, P. Burgos Street, Manila, Republic of the Philippines.
L. R. Heaney
Affiliation:
Division of Mammals, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois 60605–2496, USA.
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Abstract

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This paper describes a preliminary field survey of bushy-tailed cloud rats Crateromys spp. and slender-tailed cloud rats Phloeomys in the Philippines in April and May 1990. Brief visits were made to all islands/locations known to support these animals and also to neighbouring areas considered likely to do so. Comparing the results with information from previous surveys suggests that both genera, particularly Crateromys, are more widely distributed than formerly believed, but that some forms are threatened. Three of the four known species of Crateromys are known only from their holotype specimens, one of which awaits description. Another is extinct in its type locality on Ilin Island but may survive on neighbouring Mindoro. These preliminary findings indicate that thorough surveys are required to establish the status of certain species, to investigate the possibility that new species remain undiscovered and to develop conservation plans to reduce the likelihood of further extinctions occurring.

Type
Research Article
Information
Oryx , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , January 1993 , pp. 41 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1993

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