Paruromys dominator (Thomas 1921)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 1189-1531 : 1435

Paruromys dominator (Thomas 1921)

[Rattus] dominator Thomas 1921 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, 7: 244.

Type Locality: Indonesia, N Sulawesi, Minahassa, Mt Masarang, 4000 ft (1220 m).

Vernacular Names: Giant Sulawesi Rat.

Synonyms: Paruromys frosti (Ellerman 1949) ; Paruromys ursinus ( Sody 1941) .

Distribution: Sulawesi; Tropical evergreen lowland and montane rainforests throughout the island, from sea level to tree-line.

Conservation: IUCN – Endangered as P. ursinus , otherwise Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Musser and Newcomb (1983) reviewed the taxonomic allocations of dominator from the time it was originally described as a species of Rattus ( Thomas, 1921 a) , through its allocation to genus Taeromys ( Sody, 1941) and use as type-species of subgenus Paruromys in Rattus (Ellerman, in Laurie and Hill, 1954), up to its inclusion in subgenus Bullimus in Rattus ( Misonne, 1969) . Spermatozoal morphology of P. dominator is unlike species of Rattus or any other species for which data from spermatozoal morphology are available ( Breed and Musser, 1991), and stomach morphology is also unique among sampled murines ( Musser and Durden, 2002). Musser (1971 b) documented the association of Ellerman’s frosti with P. dominator . Sody’s (1941) ursinus , based upon specimens from the upper slopes of Gunung Lampobatang on the SE peninsula of Sulawesi, was described as a subspecies of Taeromys dominator , later included in the synonymy of that species ( Musser, 1984), and subsequently recognized as a separate species ( Musser and Holden, 1991; Downing et al., 1998). Recent multivariate analysis of cranial and dental traits by Musser (ms.), however, support the earlier inclusion of ursinus in P. dominator . Paruromys dominator , Maxomys muschenbroekii , and Rattus hoffmanni are the only Sulawesian murines occurring over the entire island in most forest formations ( Musser and Holden, 1991).

Paruromys dominator is represented by subfossil fragments (Holocene) from lowlands of the SW peninsula ( Musser, 1984) and by two lower molars recovered from late Pliocene-early Pleistocene sediments in the Walanae Formation ( Downing et al., 1998). This is the earliest record of a murine from Sulawesi and joins a distinctive extinct Pleistocene fauna consisiting of giant tortoises, crocodiles, the pig Celebochoerus , and the elephants Stegodon sompoensis and Elephas celebensis ; except for Paruromys , this unique assemblage is unlike the modern fauna (see review by Van den Bergh et al., 2001) .