Manipur Bush Rat
Encyclopedia
The Manipur Bush Rat also known as Hume's Rat or Hume's Hadromys, is a species of rodent
in the family Muridae
. It is found in northeastern India
, and is listed as endangered..
district (Assam
), Bishnupur
, Imphal, Senapati
and Karong (specimen FMNH 76562) in Manipur.
Originally thought to occur in Yunnan
in China also, the Chinese animals have been reclassified as Hadromys yunnanensis Yang & Wang 1987. The fossil
record shows that populations of the Manipur Bush Rat existed all over Thailand
right down to the Thai-Malay border during the Pleistocene
. During that time, the Indo-Malayan region may have had a cooler and drier climate with savanna-like regions. A related species is known from the Siwalik fossils from northern Pakistan
. These findings indicate that Hadromys humei is probably a "relict" species.
The Manipur Bush Rat occurs at medium altitudes from 900 to 1300 m (2,952.8 to 4,265.1 ft) above sea level. It inhabits tropical evergreen, moist deciduous and evergreen forests and also found in secondary forests in northeastern India.
in 1886 from specimens in the Manipur
collection of Allan Octavian Hume
, which was donated to the British Museum (Natural History) after Hume's life's work in ornithological
notes were sold by a servant as waste paper. The Manipur Bush Rat was named in his honour. The collection has two male and two female specimens, recorded to be collected on 23 March 1881 from "Moirang" (in Manipur), the type locality for this species.
The head and body length of the largest specimen, a female, was 125 millimetres (4.9 in) long while the tail is 106 millimetres (4.2 in) long. Elsewhere, the head and body length has been given as head and body length as 95 to 140 mm (3.7 to 5.5 in), the tail length as 195 to 40 mm (7.7 to 1.6 in). The weight has been recorded as ranging from 41 to 77 g (1.4 to 2.7 oz).
ver 3.1. The criteria for this assessment include:
The principal threats to this species are assessed to be loss of and degradation of habitat, fragmentation, and encroachment. Besides these, hunting and fire are also considered to be contrbuting causes.
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
in the family Muridae
Muridae
Muridae is the largest family of mammals. It contains over 600 species found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. They have been introduced worldwide. The group includes true mice and rats, gerbils, and relatives....
. It is found in northeastern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and is listed as endangered..
Range and habitat
The species is endemic to northeast India, and has been recorded from several localities. These are: Angarakhata in KamrupKamrup
Kamrup district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India, named after Kamarupa, a name by which Assam was previously known in ancient times. The district, however, is now a small western part of Assam, with a distinctive native Kamrupi culture and dialect . The distinctive...
district (Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
), Bishnupur
Bishnupur
-Kingdoms:*Bishnupur kingdom in what is today Bankura District, Bengal, India.-CD Blocks:* Bishnupur, Bankura - in Bankura district, West Bengal* Bishnupur I - in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal...
, Imphal, Senapati
Senapati
Senapati is the Hindi word for general and Mahasenapati means great general. It is cognate with duke or Herzog and like this word means army leader .-List of few Maratha "Senapati" or "Commander-in-Chief":...
and Karong (specimen FMNH 76562) in Manipur.
Originally thought to occur in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
in China also, the Chinese animals have been reclassified as Hadromys yunnanensis Yang & Wang 1987. The fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
record shows that populations of the Manipur Bush Rat existed all over Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
right down to the Thai-Malay border during the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
. During that time, the Indo-Malayan region may have had a cooler and drier climate with savanna-like regions. A related species is known from the Siwalik fossils from northern Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. These findings indicate that Hadromys humei is probably a "relict" species.
The Manipur Bush Rat occurs at medium altitudes from 900 to 1300 m (2,952.8 to 4,265.1 ft) above sea level. It inhabits tropical evergreen, moist deciduous and evergreen forests and also found in secondary forests in northeastern India.
Discovery
The murid was described by Oldfield ThomasOldfield Thomas
Oldfield Thomas FRS was a British zoologist.Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and sub-species for the first time. He was appointed to the Museum Secretary's office in 1876, transferring to the Zoological Department in 1878...
in 1886 from specimens in the Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
collection of Allan Octavian Hume
Allan Octavian Hume
Allan Octavian Hume was a civil servant, political reformer and amateur ornithologist in British India. He was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress, a political party that was later to lead the Indian independence movement...
, which was donated to the British Museum (Natural History) after Hume's life's work in ornithological
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
notes were sold by a servant as waste paper. The Manipur Bush Rat was named in his honour. The collection has two male and two female specimens, recorded to be collected on 23 March 1881 from "Moirang" (in Manipur), the type locality for this species.
Description
The specimen has been described by Thomas (1886) as:The head and body length of the largest specimen, a female, was 125 millimetres (4.9 in) long while the tail is 106 millimetres (4.2 in) long. Elsewhere, the head and body length has been given as head and body length as 95 to 140 mm (3.7 to 5.5 in), the tail length as 195 to 40 mm (7.7 to 1.6 in). The weight has been recorded as ranging from 41 to 77 g (1.4 to 2.7 oz).
Conservation status
The species has been given conservation status of "Endangered - B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)" in IUCN Red ListIUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
ver 3.1. The criteria for this assessment include:
- Limited area of occurrence (less than 500 square kilometres (193.1 sq mi)).
- Limited geographical extent of range (less than 5000 kilometres (3,106.9 mi)).
- Less than five areas from which it is reported.
- Continuing decline in extent and degradation of habitat.
The principal threats to this species are assessed to be loss of and degradation of habitat, fragmentation, and encroachment. Besides these, hunting and fire are also considered to be contrbuting causes.