Melomys rubicola Thomas, 1924:298
Bramble Cay melomys, Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Melomys leucogaster rubicola Thomas, 1924:298
Conservation Status
Extinct (Burbidge, 2024)
Last record: 2009 (Woinarski & Burbidge, 2016)
IUCN status: Extinct
Distribution
Bramble Cay (=Maizab Kaur =Massaramcoer =Baramaki) (& Long Island?), Torres Strait, Australia
Type locality: "Bramble Cay (as Bramble Key), Torres Strait, Qld. "about 9°S., 144°E."" (Mahoney & Richardson, 1988:163)
Considered endemic to Bramble Cay, a specimen probably collected in 1845 from Long Island may be of this species but cannot be confidently assigned due to the poor preservation of the specimen (Thomas, 1924).
Biology & Ecology
"Ecology: terrestrial"
(Mahoney & Richardson, 1988:163)
Hypodigm
Holotype: BMNH 46.8.26.7 (male; skin & skull) (Mahoney & Richardson, 1988:163)
Other specimens:
SAM 13256 (Roycroft et al., 2021, 2022)
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Thomas, Oldfield. (1924). Some new Australasian Muridae. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9) 13: 296-299.
Other references:
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http://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-bramble-cay-melomys-18036
https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/pdf/info-flyer-back-brink-7-201407.pdf
http://www.globalmammalforum.org/melomys-rubicola/
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/climate-change-first-mammal-extinction/
http://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/18377/melomys-rubicola-bramble-cay