What is the third most widespread species of rat in the world, which was partially responsible for the extinction of the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō?
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Kauaʻi ʻōʻō The Kauaʻ i ʻ ōʻ ō or ʻ ōʻ ōʻ āʻ ā (Moho braccatus) is a member of the extinct genus of the ʻ ōʻ ōs ("Moho") within the extinct family Mohoidae from the islands of Hawai'i. It was previously regarded as member of the Australo-Pacific honeyeaters ("Meliphagidae"). This bird was endemic to the island of Kauaʻ i. It was common in the subtropical forests of the island until the early twentieth century, when its decline began. Its song was last heard in 1987 and it is now probably extinct. The causes of its extinction include the introduction of the Polynesian rat, domestic pig, and mosquitoes carrying avian disease (avian malaria and avian pox), as well as habitat destruction.
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Polynesian rat The Polynesian rat, or Pacific rat ("Rattus exulans"), known to the Māori as kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, and like its relatives, has become widespread, migrating to most Polynesian islands, including New Zealand, Easter Island, and Hawaii. It shares high adaptability with other rat species extending to many environments, from grasslands to forests. It is also closely associated with humans, who provide easy access to food. It has become a major pest in most areas of its distribution.
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Kenyan African mole-rat The Kenyan African mole-rat or Kenyan mole-rat ("Tachyoryctes ibeanus") is a species of rodents in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to Kenya. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, arable land, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, urban areas, and heavily degraded former forest.
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Lesser hamster-rat The lesser hamster-rat or long-tailed pouched rat ("Beamys hindei") is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
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Red rock rat The red rock rat, or red veld rat, ("Aethomys chrysophilus") is a species of rodent in the family Muridae native to southern Africa.
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Euryoryzomys lamia Euryoryzomys lamia, also known as the buffy-sided oryzomys or monster rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus "Euryoryzomys" of family Cricetidae. It is found only in central Brazil, where it lives in forest enclaves within the cerrado. The species' known altitudinal range is from 700 to 900 m. The main threats to its survival are the destruction and fragmentation of its forest habitat.
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Buka Island mosaic-tailed rat The Buka Island mosaic-tailed rat or Buka Island melomys ("Melomys spechti") is a species of rat in Oceania.
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Squirrel-toothed rat The squirrel-toothed rat, New Guinea giant rat, powerful-toothed rat, uneven-toothed rat, or narrow-toothed giant rat (Anisomys imitator), is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only species in the genus Anisomys.
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Moa-nalo The moa-nalo are a group of extinct aberrant, goose-like ducks that lived on the larger Hawaiian Islands, except Hawaiʻ i itself, in the Pacific. They were the major herbivores on most of these islands for the last 3 million years or so, until they became extinct after human settlement.
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Lesser stick-nest rat The lesser stick-nest rat or white-tipped stick-nest rat ("Leporillus apicalis") is an extinct species of rodent in the Muridae family. It lives in central Australia where it builds a nest of sticks that accumulate over years and becomes very large. The last confirmed sighting of this rat was in 1933 although there is a credible report of a sighting in 1970. In 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed it as "critically endangered", suggesting that it may yet survive in remote areas of unsurveyed territory, but revised its evaluation to "extinct" again in 2016, based on an assessment in 2012.
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Rossel Island melomys The Rossel Island melomys ("Melomys arcium") is a species of rodent from the family Muridae. It is endemic to Rossel Island in Papua New Guinea, but Flannery (1955) presumed that "it did exist previously on other islands of the group, but has become extinct on all except Rossel." For many years it was seen as a subspecies of the white-bellied mosaic-tailed rat, but is now considered a distinct species. It is listed as data deficient by the IUCN Red List in light of little information on "population status, ecological requirements, and threats". The Rossel Island melomys has not been officially recorded since 1956, but its habitat is still in good condition. The IUCN lists determining population status of the melomys as a "high priority".
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Giant bushy-tailed cloud rat The giant bushy-tailed cloud rat or Luzon bushy-tailed cloud rat ("Crateromys schadenbergi") is a large, endangered species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is only found in pine and mossy forest at altitudes of 2000 - in the Central Cordillera of Luzon, the Philippines. Relatively little is known about its behavior, but it is nocturnal, mainly arboreal and feeds on various types of vegetation.
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Holochilus Holochilus is a genus of semiaquatic rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae, sometimes called marsh rats. It contains three living species, "H. brasiliensis", "H. chacarius", and "H. sciureus", which are widely distributed in South America east of the Andes. A fourth species from the Pleistocene of Bolivia was formerly classified as "H. primigenus", but is now placed in the genus "Reigomys".
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Oecomys rex Oecomys rex, also known as the regal oecomys or king arboreal rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus "Oecomys" of family Cricetidae. It is found in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and nearby parts of Venezuela and Brazil.
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Tapulao shrew rat Tapulao shrew rat ("Rhynchomys tapulao") is rodent in the subfamily Murinae. It was described in 2007.
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Mechow's mole-rat Mechow's mole-rat ("Fukomys mechowii") is a species of rodent in the family Bathyergidae. It is found in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and possibly Malawi. Its natural habitats are moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. This mole-rat was first described by the German naturalist Wilhelm Peters in 1881. The specific epithet honours the Prussian explorer and naturalist Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander von Mechow.
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Oreoryzomys Oreoryzomys balneator, also known as the Peruvian rice rat or Ecuadoran oryzomys, is a species of rodent in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. It is found in Ecuador and northern Peru in cloud forest at elevations from 1500 to 1800 m. It is the only species in the genus Oreoryzomys, which was included in "Oryzomys" until 2006. The genus name "Oreoryzomys" is a combination of ορος the Greek word for "mountain" with the old genus name "Oryzomys" and refers to the mountainous habitat of "O. balneator". Recent research suggests that "O. balneator" is not closely related to "Oryzomys", but instead is probably related to "Microryzomys" within a clade also including "Neacomys" and "Oligoryzomys".
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Kauaʻi ʻamakihi The Kauaʻ i ʻ amakihi ("Chlorodrepanis stejnegeri") is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper endemic to Kauaʻ i. Birds of both sexes are greenish-yellow with black lores and a large, sickle-shaped, downcurved beak. The beak is larger than that of the other three ʻ amakihi species and occasionally leads to misidentification as a Kauaʻ i nukupuʻ u, which is thought to be extinct. Like other honeycreepers, the Kauaʻ i ʻ amakihi is threatened by habitat loss, invasive species, and avian malaria, but has not been affected as strongly as other species in the subfamily.
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Greater akialoa The greater akialoa group was a set of three species of birds growing up to 19 cm long. Its bill took up to a third of the body length. The group had three species, confined to the Hawaiian Islands of Lanai, Oahu and Kauai respectively. It did not include the much smaller Lesser ʻakialoa, which was considered a full species. The Lanai and Oahu forms are extinct, while there is a remote possibility that the Kauai form survives.
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Laysan rail The Laysan rail or Laysan crake ("Porzana palmeri") was a flightless bird endemic to the Northwest Hawaiian Island of Laysan. This small island was and still is an important seabird colony, and sustained a number of endemic species, including the rail. It became extinct due to habitat loss by domestic rabbits, and ultimately World War II.
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Glover Allen's dasymys Glover Allen's dasymys (Glover Allen's shaggy rat or Dasymys alleni) is a species of shaggy marsh rat described in 1953, and indigenous to Mount Rungwe in south-western Tanzania. Contemporary studies of the taxonomy diverge, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature recognising "D. alleni" as a subspecies of the more widespread "D. incomtus", whereas Wilson and Reeder observe the reinstatement of the species as unique in "Mammal Species of the World". In their recent analysis, Verheyen "et al." describe the distribution of "D. alleni" as encompassing the Eastern Arc Mountains and the mountainous, volcanic regions around Lake Tanganyika, and potentially the Marungu highlands, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Rakali Hydromys chrysogaster, commonly known as rakali, rabe or water-rat, is an Australian native rodent first described in 1804. The change to the aboriginal name Rakali was intended to foster a positive public attitude by Environment Australia. It is the only member of the genus Hydromys with a range extending beyond Papua New Guinea and Indonesian West Papua. Having effectively adapted and colonised a unique niche of semi-aquatic and nocturnal lifestyle, this species lives in burrows on the banks of rivers, lakes and estuaries and feeds on aquatic insects, fish, crustaceans, mussels, snails, frogs, birds' eggs and water birds. Rakali have a body 231 - in length, weigh, 340 - and have a thick tail measuring around 242 - . Females are generally smaller than males but tail lengths are normally the same.They have partially webbed hind legs, waterproof fur, a flattened head, a long blunt nose, many whiskers and small ears and eyes. The body is streamlined with a skull that is large, flat and elongated, with two molars on the upper and lower jaw, similar to the False water rat "Xeromys meroides." They are black to brown in colour with an orange to white belly, and dark tail with a white tip.