Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat

Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat Temporal range: Late Pleistocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Stuffed specimen. Exhibit in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Genus:	Diplothrix
Species:	D. legata
Binomial name
Diplothrix legata (Thomas, 1906)
Synonyms[1][2]
Diplothrix legatus Lenothrix legata Thomas, 1906

The Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat or Ryukyu rat (Diplothrix legata), also known as the rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only extant species in the genus Diplothrix and is endemic to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Its natural habitat consists of temperate forests.

The species is threatened by habitat loss, predation by feral cats (with studies finding that the rat contributed 23% of feral cat's diet on Amami-Oshima),^[3] and introduced nematode and helminth parasites.^[4][5]

• Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 894–1531. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.

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