Flores giant rat

The Flores giant rat (Papagomys armandvillei) is a rodent of the family Muridae that occurs on the island of Flores in Indonesia.<ref name = MSW3>Template:MSW3 Muroidea</ref> It has been recorded in Rutong Protection Forest. The species is found in primary, secondary and disturbed forest over a wide range of elevations.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> Its head and body length is Template:Convert and its tail length is Template:Convert. These dimensions are about twice as large as those of a typical brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), which suggests about eight times the body mass.

The body mass has been estimated at Template:Convert, comparable to a rabbit.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Papagomys armandvillei is the only extant species in the genus Papagomys, with another smaller species, Papagomys theodorverhoeveni, known from subfossil remains.<ref name=":0" /> The specific epithet, armandvillei, honours the Dutch Jesuit missionary Cornelis J. F. le Cocq d'Armandville (1846–1896) who was stationed in the Dutch East Indies, and later in New Guinea.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Guy Musser describes the Flores giant rat as having small, round ears, a chunky body, and a small tail, and as appearing to be adapted for life on the ground with refuge in burrows. It has dense dark hair (pelage). Analysis of the teeth suggests a diet of leaves, buds, fruit, and certain kinds of insects as inferred by large hypsodont teeth.<ref name="GMusser">Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Flores giant rat has been suggested to have been a prey item of the extinct dwarf human species Homo floresiensis.<ref name=":0" />

Conservation

P. armandvillei is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List. Threats include subsistence hunting and predation by dogs and cats.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />

See also

• Island gigantism