Hydromyini Explained
Hydromyini is a very large, diverse tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. They are the dominant native rodents in Australasia and one of only two native rodent groups there, the other being the R. fuscipes group of the genus Rattus in the tribe Rattini.[1] They are also found in parts of Southeast Asia.
Taxonomy
They are thought to be relatively early offshoots from the Murinae, with only Rattini and Phloeomyini being more basal than them. They likely colonized New Guinea (then a part of Sahul) from either the Sunda Shelf or the Philippines during the late Miocene or early Pliocene, about 5 million years ago, and diversified extremely rapidly. From here, they colonized Australia about 2-3 million years ago, undergoing major adaptive radiation.[2]
Earlier taxonomists formerly split this group into three subfamilies (Hydromyinae, Pseudomyinae, and an unnamed "Old Papuan group"). Although all were later merged into the Murinae, they were still retained as multiple tribes (Anisomyini, Hydromyini, Uromyini, and Conilurini), with other taxonomists splitting them even further. However, a 2008 study found them to comprise a single group that had undergone a rapid diversification after colonizing Sahul, and thus placed them all into a single tribe, Hydromyini.
The genus Chiropodomys (formerly placed in a polyphyletic division containing Micromys, Hapalomys, and Vandeleuria) has been found to be the sister group to this tribe, but it has been debated over whether it belongs in its own tribe (Chiropodomyini) or is a basal member of the Hydromyini. The American Society of Mammalogists presently classifies it in Hydromyini.[3] [4]
Although the name "Hydromyini" derives from the semiaquatic type genus Hydromys, which translates directly to "water mouse", only a few members of the tribe such as Hydromys and Xeromys are semiaquatic; the majority are terrestrial, and some such as Notomys are even specifically adapted to arid environments.
Distribution
Their center of diversity is in New Guinea, with a secondary one in Australia, but they also range east to the Solomon Islands and west to Borneo and the Philippines, and, if the genus Chiropodomys is included, as far west as northeast India. Members of this tribe in New Guinea and Australia are referred to as the "Old Endemic rodents", to differentiate them from the native Rattus species from the tribe Rattini, which colonized the regions much more recently.
Species
Species in the tribe include:
- Chiropodomys division (sometimes placed in a distinct tribe, Chiropodomyini)
- Chrotomys division
- Genus Apomys
- Subgenus Apomys
- Subgenus Megapomys
- Luzon Cordillera forest mouse, Apomys abrae
- Luzon Aurora forest mouse, Apomys aurorae
- Mount Banahaw forest mouse, Apomys banahao
- Mount Tapulao forest mouse, Apomys brownorum
- Luzon montane forest mouse, Apomys datae
- Large Mindoro forest mouse, Apomys gracilirostris
- Apomys iridensis
- Mindanao lowland forest mouse, Apomys littoralis
- Apomys lubangensis
- Luzon giant forest mouse, Apomys magnus
- Mount Mingan forest mouse, Apomys minganensis
- Long-nosed Luzon forest mouse, Apomys sacobianus
- Sierra Madre forest mouse, Apomys sierrae
- Luzon Zambales forest mouse, Apomys zambalensis
- Genus Archboldomys (Mount Isarog shrew rats)
- Genus Soricomys
- Genus Chrotomys - Luzon striped rats
- Genus Rhynchomys - shrew-like rats
- Conilurus division
- Haeromys division
- Hydromys division
- Genus Baiyankamys (formerly in Hydromys)
- Genus Crossomys (Earless Water Rat)
- Genus Hydromys - water rats
- Genus Leptomys
- Genus Microhydromys
- Genus Mirzamys
- Genus Parahydromys (Mountain Water Rat)
- Genus Paraleptomys
- Genus Pseudohydromys - New Guinea false water rats
- Bishop moss mouse, Pseudohydromys berniceae
- Huon small-toothed moss mouse, Pseudohydromys carlae
- Laurie's moss mouse, Pseudohydromys eleanorae
- One-toothed shrew mouse, Pseudohydromys ellermani
- Mottled-tailed shrew mouse, Pseudohydromys fuscus
- German's one-toothed moss mouse, Pseudohydromys germani
- Eastern shrew mouse, Pseudohydromys murinus
- Musser's shrew mouse, Pseudohydromys musseri
- Western shrew mouse, Pseudohydromys occidentalis
- Woolley's moss mouse, Pseudohydromys patriciae
- Southern small-toothed moss mouse, Pseudohydromys pumehanae
- White-bellied moss mouse, Pseudohydromys sandrae
- Genus Xeromys (False Water Rat)
- Mallomys division
- Pogonomys division
- Pseudomys division
- Genus Leggadina
- Genus Mastacomys
- Genus Notomys - Australian hopping mice
- Spinifex hopping mouse, Notomys alexis
- Short-tailed hopping mouse, Notomys amplus †
- Northern hopping mouse, Notomys aquilo
- Fawn hopping mouse, Notomys cervinus
- Dusky hopping mouse, Notomys fuscus
- Long-tailed hopping mouse, Notomys longicaudatus †
- Big-eared hopping mouse, Notomys macrotis †
- Mitchell's hopping mouse, Notomys mitchellii
- Darling Downs hopping mouse, Notomys mordax †
- Great hopping mouse, Notomys robustus †
- Genus Pseudomys - Australian native mice
- Ash-grey mouse, Pseudomys albocinereus
- Silky mouse, Pseudomys apodemoides
- Plains rat, Pseudomys australis
- Bolam's mouse, Pseudomys bolami
- Kakadu pebble-mound mouse, Pseudomys calabyi
- Western pebble-mound mouse, Pseudomys chapmani
- Little native mouse, Pseudomys delicatulus
- Desert mouse, Pseudomys desertor
- Smoky mouse, Pseudomys fumeus
- Blue-gray mouse, Pseudomys glaucus †
- Gould's mouse, Pseudomys gouldii
- Eastern chestnut mouse, Pseudomys gracilicaudatus
- Sandy inland mouse, Pseudomys hermannsburgensis
- Long-tailed mouse, Pseudomys higginsi
- Central pebble-mound mouse, Pseudomys johnsoni
- Western chestnut mouse, Pseudomys nanus
- New Holland mouse, Pseudomys novaehollandiae
- Western mouse, Pseudomys occidentalis
- Hastings River mouse, Pseudomys oralis
- Country mouse, Pseudomys patrius
- Pilliga mouse, Pseudomys pilligaensis
- Heath mouse, Pseudomys shortridgei
- Genus Zyzomys - thick-tailed rats
- Uromys division
- Genus Melomys - banana rats
- Dusky mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys aerosus
- Rossel Island mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys arcium
- Bannister's rat, Melomys bannisteri
- Bougainville mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys bougainville
- Grassland mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys burtoni
- Cape York mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys capensis
- Fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys cervinipes
- Yamdena mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys cooperae
- Dollman's mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys dollmani
- Manusela mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys fraterculus
- Snow Mountains grassland mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys frigicola
- Seram long-tailed mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys fulgens
- Riama mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys howi
- White-bellied mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys leucogaster
- Papua grassland mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys lutillus
- Manus Island mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys matambuai
- Obi mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys obiensis
- Pavel's Seram mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys paveli
- Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys rubicola
- Black-tailed mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys rufescens
- Buka Island mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys spechti
- Short-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys caurinus
- Long-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys talaudium
- Genus Paramelomys
- Genus Protochromys
- Genus Solomys - naked-tailed rats
- Genus Uromys - giant naked-tailed rats
- Giant naked-tailed rat, Uromys anak
- Biak giant rat, Uromys boeadii
- Giant white-tailed rat, Uromys caudimaculatus
- Emma's giant rat, Uromys emmae
- Masked white-tailed rat, Uromys hadrourus
- Emperor rat, Uromys imperator (possibly extinct)
- Bismarck giant rat, Uromys neobritanicus
- Guadalcanal rat, Uromys porculus (possibly extinct)
- King rat, Uromys rex
- Great Key Island giant rat, Uromys siebersi
- Vangunu giant rat, Uromys vika
- Unknown division
Threats
In Australia, many members of this tribe have gone extinct very rapidly since the 19th century due to introduced predators and habitat alteration (such as development and fire suppression). Prominent examples include the white-footed rabbit rat (Conilurus albipes), lesser stick-nest rat (Leporillus apicalis), blue-grey mouse (Pseudomys glaucus) and over half the recent species in the genus Notomys, most of which likely went extinct during the late 19th or early 20th centuries; many other species have also seen significantly reduced populations or range reductions. Genetic studies indicate that many of these species had relatively high genetic diversity prior to European colonization, indicating that they were not suffering from inbreeding beforehand and that high genetic diversity does not shield species from extinctions.[5] Another species, the Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola), which went extinct in the early 2010s, was the first recorded extinction of an animal due to sea level rise.[6]
Notes and References
- Book: Prins. Herbert H. T.. Invasion Biology and Ecological Theory: Insights from a Continent in Transformation. Gordon. Iain J.. 2014-01-23. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-107-78297-6. 198. en.
- Rowe. Kevin C.. Reno. Michael L.. Richmond. Daniel M.. Adkins. Ronald M.. Steppan. Scott J.. April 2008. Pliocene colonization and adaptive radiations in Australia and New Guinea (Sahul): Multilocus systematics of the old endemic rodents (Muroidea: Murinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 47. 1. 84–101. 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.01.001. 18313945. 1055-7903.
- Pagès. Marie. Fabre. Pierre-Henri. Chaval. Yannick. Mortelliti. Alessio. Nicolas. Violaine. Wells. Konstans. Michaux. Johan R.. Lazzari. Vincent. 2016. Molecular phylogeny of South-East Asian arboreal murine rodents. Zoologica Scripta. en. 45. 4. 349–364. 10.1111/zsc.12161. 86285898. 1463-6409.
- Rowe. Kevin C.. Achmadi. Anang S.. Fabre. Pierre-Henri. Schenk. John J.. Steppan. Scott J.. Esselstyn. Jacob A.. 2019. Oceanic islands of Wallacea as a source for dispersal and diversification of murine rodents. Journal of Biogeography. en. 46. 12. 2752–2768. 10.1111/jbi.13720. 208583483. 1365-2699.
- Roycroft. Emily. MacDonald. Anna J.. Moritz. Craig. Moussalli. Adnan. Miguez. Roberto Portela. Rowe. Kevin C.. 2021-07-06. Museum genomics reveals the rapid decline and extinction of Australian rodents since European settlement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. en. 118. 27. e2021390118. 10.1073/pnas.2021390118. 0027-8424. 34183409. 8271571. 2021PNAS..11821390R . free .
- News: Innis. Michelle. 2016-06-14. Australian Rodent Is First Mammal Made Extinct by Human-Driven Climate Change, Scientists Say. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-12-11. 0362-4331.