Ziegler's Water Rat discovered in the mid 2000s, is a species of rodent native to the mountains Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

 of which little is known.

Research and history

It was discovered in 2005 by K. Helgen, and later was assessed by Helgen, and A. Allison in 2008. The water rat was named in honor of the deceased Dr. Alan C. Ziegler from the Bishop Museum

Bishop Museum

The Bishop Museum , is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu...

.It has been rated as data deficient for the purposes of the IUCN redlist due to the fact that insufficient is know about the creature's population range, threats, and numbers. Only two specimens have ever been recorded by scientists. The water rat may be threatened by logging of its forest habitat but more research is needed to codify this theory. It is also believed it may inhabit the northern slopes of its mountain home but study is needed to determine this as fact.

Habitat

This species inhabits both terrestrial and freshwater systems. This includes forests, subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests, inland wetlands, permanent watercourses, and artificial terrestrial areas. The animal has only been recorded in Bainyik, located on the south slopes of the Princess Alexandra mountains at an elevation of 200 meters (650 feet). The rat has been found to live in creeks and rivers in low lying tropical rain forests but it may also live in higher elevations.

External links

• Profile on IUCN redlist