| Summary: | Distribution. Native distribution ranged from E Afghanistan through N &NE India, Nepal, Bhutan, and N Bangladesh into C & China (including Hainan I), Korean Peninsula, and mainland SE Asia including many offshore Is S to the Isthmus of Kra; presently unclear whether the species is native or introduced to Taiwan and Japan. Native and introduced distributions are currently unresolved, especially because there are probably three distinct species, currently recognized as lineages. Introduced into in the Andaman and Nicobar Is, Peninsular Malaysia and Sunda Shelf Is, Philippines, W New Guinea, Eniwetok and Fiji within Micronesia and Palau, although these seem to be more recent than other introductions. Specimens from South America and S California, USA, have been genetically identified as this species, probably originating from individuals transported there by boats in recent times. Because of ambiguity between when species were introduced and confusion as to what populations are native or not, the more ancient introduced distribution of the speciesis included in the distribution map throughout Indonesia and Melanesia, but not in other regions where the species has been introduced more recently (North America, South Africa, and Micronesia). Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Muridae, pp. 536-884 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 831, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6887260
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