Two new records of the genus Rattus from Manipur

The diversity of rats of the Manipur, the easternmost state of India remains largely unexplored besides some of the works of the Zoological Survey of India. Out of a total of 4,629 species of mammals known in the world, 372 species occur in the Indian union. Of these, 69 species are reported from Ma...

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Main Authors: DHANANJOY, CHINGANGBAM, LAISHRAM, J. M., SINGH, NAOREM BRAJENDRA, WANI, SHABIR HUSSAIN, BRAJAKISHOR, CHINGAKHAM, LOIDANG, T.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HIND INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2015
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Online Access:http://myresearchjournals.com/index.php/AJAS/article/view/2139
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Summary:The diversity of rats of the Manipur, the easternmost state of India remains largely unexplored besides some of the works of the Zoological Survey of India. Out of a total of 4,629 species of mammals known in the world, 372 species occur in the Indian union. Of these, 69 species are reported from Manipur (Mandal et al., 2005). Five subspecies under the genus Rattus viz., Rattus rattus brunneusculus (Hodgson), Rattus rattus bullocki Roonwal, Rattus rattus tistae Hinton, Rattus nitidus obsoletus Hinton, and Rattus manipulus manipulus (Thomas) besides one species Rattus mackenziei (Thomas) had been reported from Manipur. Rattus mackenziei (Thomas) and Rattus manipulus manipulus (Thomas) were included in the genus Berylmys as Berylmys mackenziei (Thomas) and Berylmys manipulus (Thomas), respectively. In this paper we are reporting the occurrence of two more species of the genus Rattus viz., Rattus tanezumi (Temminck, 1844) and Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769) for the first time from Manipur. The morphometric data as well as the osteological data from skull were studied for an unambiguous identification of the two species. The objective of the study was to present the diversity of the rats in Manipur as well as determination of the endemism of the rats.