Chiruromys is a genus of Old World mouse that is restricted to New Guinea and the nearby islands of Goodenough, Fergusson Island, and Normanby.
Characteristics
These are small
arboreal rats with long tails. Head and body is , tail is , and weight is .
[Nowak, 1999] The fur is grey to brown above with a white belly. They are restricted to forests where they spend all of their time in the canopy. They live in groups usually consisting of a breeding pair and their offspring (usually one to three) (Nowak, 1999).
Classification
Musser and Carleton (2005) considered
Chiruromys to be a member of the
Pogonomys Division within the
Murinae along with the genera
Pogonomys,
Hyomys,
Macruromys,
Mallomys,
Coccymys, and
Anisomys. It is considered a New Guinea Old Endemic, part of the initial wave of murines colonizing the island.
Species
Genus
Chiruromys
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Greater tree mouse, Chiruromys forbesi
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Chiruromys lamia, Chiruromys lamia
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Lesser tree mouse, Chiruromys vates
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Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
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Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936 pp.
