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The Bulldog Rat (Rattus nativitatis) lived on the higher hills and denser forests of Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. It had a short tail and its back was covered in a two centimetre thick layer of fat. It lived in small colonies, in burrows among the roots of trees or under hollow logs in primary forest. It was sluggish and never climbed and may have seemed half-dazed in daylight. The last record dates from 1903. It may have succumbed to a disease brought by introduced black rats.
[edit] References
- Baillie (1996). Rattus nativitatis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006.
- Flannery, Tim & Schouten, Peter (2001). A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals. Atlantic Monthly Press, New York. ISBN 0-87113-797-6.
