Pseudohydromys occidentalis Tate 1951

Pseudohydromys occidentalis Tate 1951, Bull. Am. Mus . Nat. Hist., 97: 224.

Type Locality: New Guinea, Prov. of Papua (= Irian Jaya), north of Mt Wilhelmina, Snow Mtns (Pegunungan Maoke), Lake Habbema, 3225 m.

Vernacular Names: Western New Guinea Shrew Mouse.

Distribution: New Guinea; known only from the area around Lake Habbema and slopes of Mt Wilhelmina in Prov. of Papua (= Irian Jaya) (Tate, 1951:225); apparently a Snow Mtn endemic.

Conservation: IUCN – Vulnerable.

Discussion: Pseudohydromys occidentalis and its eastern relative P. murinus are found only in tropical upper montane rainforest. Other than being montane and primarily insectivorous, little is recorded about its natural history (Flannery, 1995 a). Records from the Star Mtns and Victor Emmanuel Range in W Papua New Guinea attributed to P. occidentalis (Flannery, 1995 a:256) actually represent a separate morphologically distinctive species (K. Helgen, in litt., 2003).