|
HOME --> CLASS MAMMALIA
--> ORDER RODENTIA
--> SUBORDER MYOMORPHA
--> SUPERFAMILY Muroidea
--> FAMILY Muridae
--> SUBFAMILY Murinae
GENUS Melomys
| Author: | Thomas, 1922. | | Citation: | Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, 9: 261. | | Type Species: | Uromys rufescens Alston, 1877. | | Comments: | UromysDivision. Member of the Australian and New Guinea region Old Endemics (Musser, 1981c, 1982b). Data from microcomplement fixation of albumin indicated Australian Melomys is closely related to Uromys and in the same monophyletic group with Mesembriomys, Leporillus, Conilurus, and Zyzomys (Watts et al., 1992). These genera join other Australian and some New Guinea genera to form an "Australasian clade" as estimated by albumin immunology (Watts and Baverstock, 1994a, 1995b, 1996). Menzies (1996) has revised the New Guinea species that were formerly included in Melomys. His results considerably contracted the scope of the genus by raising subgenus Paramelomys to generic rank, separating lanosus and rattoides as a separate genus (see account of Mammelomys) and placing fellowsi in its own genus (see account of Protochromys). Mahoney and Richardson (1988) cataloged taxonomic, distributional, and biological references to Australian species; Flannery (1995a, b) summarized the same for many New Guinea Melomys. |
|
| |
|
|
