
Friday 25 January
Kingdom | Animalia |
Phylum | Chordata |
Class | Mammalia |
Order | Rodentia |
Family | Muridae |
Genus | Niviventer (1) |
The Sundaic arboreal niviventer (Niviventer cremoriventer) is one of 15 species belonging to the genus Niviventer, known as the ‘white bellied rats’ (3). The Sundaic arboreal niviventer has thick reddish-brown to orange-brown fur on the upperparts, with distinct long, black guard hairs. The underparts are whitish with a yellow tinge (2) (4).
The dusky, prehensile tail has a slight tuft at the tip and is longer than the head and body (2) (3) (4), providing the Sundaic arboreal niviventer with excellent balance, so that it is equally at home foraging for fruit in the canopy as it is on the forest floor (5). Its broad hind feet with well-developed pads on the soles also make it an able climber (2).
Little is known about the biology of the Sundaic arboreal niviventer, but other Niviventer species typically produce litters of two to five young (3). The nest, which is woven from plant fibres and leaves, is commonly fixed to branches, some distance off the ground (6).
The Sundaic arboreal niviventer is reportedly omnivorous, and although details of its diet are lacking, it is known to feed on fruits and seeds (7) (8). It is agile and light enough to traverse branches less than three millimetres in diameter to reach fruit (7). As a result of this diet, the Sundaic arboreal niviventer is, like many small mammals, likely to play an important role as a seed disperser (7) (8) (9).
This small mammal often falls prey to larger animals such as the crotaline snake (Calloselasma rhodostoma) (10) and leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) (11).
The Sundaic arboreal niviventer is widespread in Southeast Asia. Its range extends from peninsular Thailand, through Malaysia and Singapore to Indonesia, including Sumatra and Borneo (1).
The Sundaic arboreal niviventer inhabits forests at a range of altitudes, from sea level up to 1,530 metres on the slopes of Mount Kinabalu (1). It favours primary forest, but may also be found in secondary forest (1).
The Sundaic arboreal niviventer is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List (1).
Although the Sundaic arboreal niviventer is considered to be tolerant of some disturbance of its habitat and can live in secondary forest, the extent of habitat destruction and degradation in Southeast Asia is so great that it is causing numbers of this unusual mammal to decline (1). The palm oil and timber industries are primarily responsible for the destruction of Southeast Asia’s forests, which has resulted in the Sundaic arboreal niviventer becoming an endangered species (1).
Although the Sundaic arboreal niviventer is reportedly present in many protected areas throughout its range (1), which should offer its forest habitat some protection, there are currently no known species conservation measures in place for this small rodent.
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk
Image credit
© Konstans Wells
Konstans Wells
Institute of Experimental Ecology
University of Ulm
konstans.wells@uni-ulm.de
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