Xanthurus Rat

The xanthurus rat is a Sulawesi-endemic Rattus distinguished most readily by its long two-coloured tail. The tail is roughly 125% of head-and-body length, black on the basal third and yellow over the remainder. Its feet are dark brown and furred above, while the underside is paler and generally yellow-grey-brown. The skull combines relatively small teeth with enlarged auditory bullae and foramina (Handbook of the Mammals of the World account).

Published accounts place it through Sulawesi's northern arm, central core and south-eastern peninsula, but not the south-western peninsula, where related rats replace it. It inhabits lowland tropical evergreen forest below 1,000 m and has also been recorded in cacao agroforest. The species occurs alongside Rattus marmosurus in the north-east. Three pairs of mammae are reported, one pectoral pair and two inguinal pairs (Handbook of the Mammals of the World account).