Daniel's Tufted-Tailed Rat

Daniel's Tufted-Tailed Rat
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Nesomyidae
Genus: Eliurus
Species: E. danieli
Binomial name
Eliurus danieli
Eliurus danieli range

Daniel's Tufted-Tailed Rat (Eliurus danieli)[1] is a species of rodent in the Nesomyidae family. It was discovered in 2003 in the Parc National de l’Isalo in south-central Madagascar.[2] It is named for Daniel Rakotondravony, professor of animal biology at the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar.[1]

Daniel's tufted-tailed rat first became known in 1995, when a specimen was found to belong to the majori-penicillatus complex. Molecular data suggested that Eliurus majori was a close relative; study of two more animals found in 2002 indicated that it is a different species.

Description

A male specimen found in December 2002 was found to have scrotal testes with convoluted epididymis.[2] It has a notably rounded braincase, certainly in comparison with E. antsingy.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson (2009). The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. JHU Press. pp. 98, 529. ISBN 9780801893049. http://books.google.com/books?id=I-kSmWLc6vYC&pg=PA529. 
  2. ^ a b Carleton, M.D., and S.M. Goodman. 2007. A New Species of the Eliurus majori Complex (Rodentia: Muroidea: Nesomyidae) from South-central Madagascar, with Remarks on Emergent Species Groupings in the Genus Eliurus. American Museum Novitates 3547: 1-21. [1]
  3. ^ Goodman, Steven M.; Martin Raheriarisena, Sharon A. Jansa (2009). "A new species of Eliurus Milne Edwards, 1885 (Rodentia: Nesomyinae) from the Réserve Spéciale d’Ankarana, northern Madagascar". Bonner zoologische Beiträge 56 (3): 133–49. http://www.zfmk.de/BZB/Band_56_3/BZB_56_2009_Goodman_et_all.pdf. Retrieved 28 January 2011.