Rattus tawitawiensis Musser and Heaney 1985

Rattus tawitawiensis Musser and Heaney 1985, Am. Mus . Novit., 2818: 5.

Type Locality: Philippines, Sulu Arch., Tawitawi Isl, Batu Batu.

Vernacular Names: Tawitawi Forest Rat.

Distribution: Greater Sulu Faunal Region. Known only from Tawitawi Isl in S part of Sulu Arch.

Conservation: IUCN – Vulnerable.

Discussion: Rattus rattus species group. Still recorded by only three specimens. Phylogenetic affinities unclear; in some traits resembles Sulawesian R. hoffmanni and members of the Rattus palmarum-burrus-simalurensis-lugens clusters on the Nicobar, Simalur, and Mentawai islands more closely than any described Rattus from the Indo-Australian region (Musser and Heaney, 1985).