German's one-toothed moss mouse
| German's one-toothed moss mouse | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Pseudohydromys |
| Species: | P. germani
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pseudohydromys germani (Helgen, 2005)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Mayermys germani | |
German's one-toothed moss mouse (Pseudohydromys germani)[1] is a species of rodent in the family Muridae which occurs in the mountains of southeastern New Guinea.
Taxonomy
It was first described in the genus Mayermys, but this genus, which only included the two one-molared species, has since been synonymised under
Description
Like its relative, P. germani is a small, inconspicuous, shrew-like mouse, but it is slightly larger and has darker (dark grey as opposed to pale grey) ears and a sparsely haired tail with short hairs (the other species has more and longer hairs). Its molars, however, are even smaller (less than 1 mm) than the other species's tiny teeth. The upper incisors are
Distribution and habitat
It is known from only one specimen, an adult male which was caught at an altitude of 1300 m in the village of Munimun, Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea in August 1992. P. germani was first described in 2005 by biologist Kristofer Helgen and named after Pavel German, who caught the specimen.[3]
References
- ^ a b Reeder, D.M., Helgen, K.M. & Wilson, D.E. 2007. Global trends and biases in new mammal species discoveries. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Texas Tech University 269.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Helgen, K.M. 2005. A new species of murid rodent (genus Mayermys) from south-eastern New Guinea. Mammalian Biology 70(1):61-67.