Rattus mordax Thomas 1904

Rattus mordax Thomas 1904, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 14: 398.

Type Locality: Papua New Guinea, Kumusi River (see Tate, 1951:333, for comments).

Vernacular Names: Eastern New Guinea Rat.

Synonyms: Rattus fergussoniensis Laurie 1952 .

Distribution: Papua New Guinea; Huon Peninsula and both sides of Owen Stanley Range on mainland, sea level to 2750 m (Taylor et al., 1982; Flannery, 1995 a). Also recorded from Goodenough, Fergusson, and Normanby Isls in the D'Entrecasteaux Arch.; Woodlark Isl in the Trobriand Arch.; Misima and Sudest in the Louisiade Arch.; the Conflict Group of islands; and Sideia Isl, off the tip of E Papua (Flannery, 1995 b).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Rattus leucopus species group. Originally described by Thomas as a species, mordax had been treated as a subspecies of either leucopus, ringens, or ruber until it was reinstated by Taylor et al. (1982). Reviewed by Flannery (1995 a).