Hydromys Explained

Hydromys is a genus of semiaquatic rodents in the subfamily Murinae. Three species are endemic to New Guinea and nearby islands. The fourth species, the rakali, is also found on Australia. The most recently discovered member of this genus was described in 2005.

List of species

Genus Hydromys - water rats:

• Rakali, Hydromys chrysogaster E. Geoffroy, 1804
• Western water rat, Hydromys hussoni Musser and Piik, 1982^[1]
• New Britain water rat, Hydromys neobritannicus Tate and Archbold, 1935
• Ziegler's water rat, Hydromys ziegleri Helgen, 2005

Note: Hydromys habbema Tate and Archbold, 1941 and Hydromys shawmayeri (Hinton, 1943) are placed within Baiyankamys after Helgen, 2005.

References

• Woollard . P. . Vestjens . W. J. M. . Maclean . L. . The ecology of the eastern water rat Hydromys chrysogaster at Griffith, N.S.W.: Food and feeding habits. . Wildlife Research . 5 . 1 . 1978 . 59–73 . 10.1071/WR9780059.

1. Helgen . K. M. . March 2005 . The amphibious murines of New Guinea (Rodentia, Muridae): the generic status of Baiyankamys and description of a new species of Hydromys . Zootaxa . 913 . 1 . 1–20 . 10.11646/zootaxa.913.1.1.