Rattus pyctoris Hodgson 1845

• Main Authors: Wilson, Don E., Reeder, DeeAnn
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: The Johns Hopkins University Press 2005
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Rodentia; Muridae; Rattus; Rattus pyctoris; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11358357; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/98BA28C1BB75B4406AA691C7E65F637E

Rattus pyctoris Hodgson 1845 Rattus pyctoris Hodgson 1845, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 1, 15: 267. Type Locality: Nepal. Vernacular Names: Himalayan Rat. Synonyms: Rattus celsus G. M. Allen 1926; Rattus gilgitianus Akhtar 1959; Rattus khumbuensis Biswas and Khajuria 1955; Rattus rattoides (Hodgson 1845); Rattus shigarus (Miller 1913); Rattus turkestanicus (Satunin 1903); Rattus vicerex (Bonhote 1903). Distribution: Mountains of SE Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, E Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan (Kucheruk, 2000); EC Iran (NE Kerman Province; FMNH series); N Afghanistan (Hassinger, 1973; Niethammer and Martens, 1975; BMNH and FMNH specimens); N Pakistan (Akhtar, 1959; USNM material); N India (Agrawal, 2000; large series in BMNH, FMNH, and USNM); Nepal (Ellerman, 1961; Niethammer and Martens, 1975; BMNH, FMNH, and USNM specimens); and S China (Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guangdong; AMNH and FMNH material). Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc) as R. turkestanicus . Discussion: Rattus norvegicus species group. Despite past use of rattoides Hodgson, 1845 (Caldarini et al., 1989; Corbet, 1978 c Ellerman, 1961; Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951), it is preoccupied by rattoides Pictet and Pictet, 1844, a synonym of R. rattus (Schlitter and Thonglongya, 1971). The name turkestanicus (type-locality = Kyrgyzstan, Oshskaya Obl., Lenniskii p-h, Arslanbob) has generally replaced rattoides (Corbet and Hill, 1992; Musser and Carleton, 1993; Musser and Newcomb, 1985; Niethammer and Martens, 1975) for the species but should be abandoned for pyctoris , which is the oldest name (Musser and Carleton, 1993). Hodgson’s (1845) pyctoris has historically been treated as a synonym of either R. rattus (Ellerman, 1941) or R. nitidus (Corbet, 1978 c Ellerman, 1961; Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951). Musser studied the holotype of pyctoris (BMNH 45.1.8.381), the skin and skull of a young adult. The skin is in poor condition, and posterior part of the cranium and posterior portions of the dentaries are missing. However, the skin is sufficiently intact to ...