Crossomys moncktoni Thomas 1907

Crossomys moncktoni Thomas 1907, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 20: 71.

Type Locality: New Guinea, SE Papua New Guinea, Central Province, Brown River, Serigina, 4500 ft (1370 m).

Vernacular Names: Earless New Guinea Water Rat.

Distribution: Papua New Guinea; known only from Papua New Guinea Central Cordillera and mountains on Huon Peninsula, 1000-2700 m (Flannery, 1990 b:191, 1995 a).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Flannery (1990 b, 1995 b) provided photographs and summaries of distributional and biological information for this amphibious rat. Chromosomal data reported by Donnellan (1987). Comparisons with Hydromys habbema, Neotropical ichthyomyines, and other small, semiaquatic carnivorous mammals made by Voss (1988). Leary and Seri (1997) reported specimens from Mt. Sisa in the Central Cordillera. Crossomys moncktoni is part of a cluster of Old Endemics apparently confined to E New Guinea (the others are Leptomys elegans, L. ernstmayeri, L. signatus, Pseudohydromys fuscus, P. murinus, Abeomelomys sevia, all species of Chiruromys, Hyomys goliath, Protochromys fellowsi, Melomys dollmani, Paramelomys gressitti, P. levipes, P. moncktoni, Pogonomelomys bruijni, and Pogonomys championi).