Melomys frigicola Tate 1951

Melomys frigicola Tate 1951, Bull. Am. Mus . Nat. Hist., 97: 303.

Type Locality: Indonesia, Prov. of Papua (= Irian Jaya), Snow Mtns (Pegunungan Maoke), Bele River, 18 km N Lake Habbema, 2200 m.

Vernacular Names: Snow Mountains Grassland Melomys.

Distribution: Known only from the N slopes of the Snow Mtns and nearby Baliem River, 1600-2800 m; probably occurs elsewhere in Pegunungan Maoke.

Discussion: Originally described as a subspecies of M. lutillus by Tate (1951), retained that way by Laurie and Hill (1954) and Flannery (1995 a), but included among the synonyms of M. burtoni by Mahoney and Richardson (1988) and Musser and Carleton (1993). Menzies (1996) elevated frigicola to species rank based on results of morphometric analysis. Most closely related to M. lutillus of New Guinea and M. burtoni of Australia and the Trans-Fly region of New Guinea (see those accounts).