Rhynchomys Thomas 1895

Rhynchomys Thomas 1895, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 6, 16: 160.

Type Species: Rhynchomys soricoides Thomas 1895

Species and subspecies: 2 species:

Species Rhynchomys isarogensis Musser and Freeman 1981

Species Rhynchomys soricoides Thomas 1895

Discussion: Chrotomys Division. Member of the Philippine Old Endemics (Musser and Heaney, 1992). Considered the only genus in Rhynchomyinae by Thomas (1896), who later included Echiothrix (Thomas, 1898 b) . Phylogenetic analyses of complete mtDNA cytochrome b sequences for 13 of the 16 genera of endemic Philippine murines place Rhynchomys in a clade containing Apomys, Chrotomys (including Celaenomys), and Archboldomys (Jansa and Heaney, 2001), which is supported by chromosomal data (Rickart and Heaney, 2002). The species of Philippine shrew rats in Rhynchomys, Chrotomys (including Celaenomys), and Archboldomys are unrelated to the other groups of shrew rats endemic to either Sulawesi or the Australia-New Guinea region (Musser and Heaney, 1992).