Rattus xanthurus Gray 1867

Rattus xanthurus Gray 1867, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1867: 598.

Type Locality: Indonesia, NE Sulawesi, Tondano, 3600 ft (1100 m).

Vernacular Names: Northeastern Xanthurus Rat.

Synonyms: Rattus faberi (Jentink 1883); Rattus paraxanthus (Sody 1941) .

Distribution: NE Sulawesi only, from vicinity of Teluk Kuandang (0°50'N, 122°52'E) eastward in NE region of N peninsula of Sulawesi.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Rattus xanthurus species group. See Musser (1971 c-e, 1984) for justification behind allocation of synonyms. One of the larger-bodied members of this complex, which includes R. bontanus, R. marmosurus, R. salocco, and R. pelurus . Occurs sympatrically with R. marmosurus on the NE Peninsula. Sody (1941) included xanthurus in Taeromys . Although the R. xanthurus group may eventually be removed from Rattus (Musser and Holden, 1991), it does not belong in Taeromys (Musser, ms).