The Panay Cloudrunner is the second-largest cloud rat

Crateromys

Crateromys is a genus of rodent, native to the Philippines, in the family Muridae.It contains four species:* Dinagat Bushy-Tailed Cloud Rat * Giant Bushy-Tailed Cloud Rat...

, a squirrel-like rodent

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....

 that is found on the island of Panay

Panay

Panay may refer to*Panay Island*Panay *Panay, Capiz*Panay River*Panay Gulf* USS Panay *Panay incident...

 in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

Discovery

The Panay Cloudrunner was discovered by western science in 1987, and was described as a new species in 1996 by Robert Kennedy of the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Pedro Gonzales of the National Museum of the Philippines

National Museum of the Philippines

The Museum of the Filipino People is a department of the National Museum of the Philippines that houses the Anthropology and Archaeology Divisions of the National Museum. It is located in the Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, Manila adjacent to the main National Museum building...

. The late date of discovery was because the lack of forest cover on Palay lead to the island being largely ignored by biologists.

Description

The Panay Cloudrunner is a little over 600mm long, with grizzled greyish-brown fur and a long, bushy tail making up more than half of the body length. It weighs around 1 kilogram.

Habits

The cloudrunner is nocturnal and arboreal, and nests during the day in the hollow of a large tree. Its diet includes bananas, guavas, corn, papayas, and assorted leaves.

Conservation

Continued deforestation on the island of Panay is the major threat to this species, and the animal is now confined to remnant forest in a mountain range on the western end of the island.