| Spelaeomys Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Subfamily: | Murinae |
| Genus: | †Spelaeomys Hooijer, 1957 |
| Species: | †S. florensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Spelaeomys florensis Hooijer, 1957
| |
Spelaeomys florensis, also known as the Flores cave rat, is an extinct species of rat that was formerly endemic to the island of Flores, Indonesia. MacPhee and Flemming assessed this species to be extinct in 1996, but believed it probably died out before 1500. This specimen is only known from subfossil remains, including at Liang Bua cave. It is the only member of the genus Spelaeomys.[1] It was large sized species with a body mass of around 0.6–1.6 kilograms (1.3–3.5 lb). It is suggested to have been arboreal animal that lived in closed forests, and to have been herbivorous, consuming leaves and flowers.[2]
- ^ D. A. HOOIJER (23 december 1957). NEW GIANT PREHISTORIC RATS FROM FLORES LESSER SUNDA ISLANDS. ZOOLOGISCHE MEDEDELINGEN XXXV , No. 21
- ^ Veatch, E. Grace; Tocheri, Matthew W.; Sutikna, Thomas; McGrath, Kate; Wahyu Saptomo, E.; Jatmiko; Helgen, Kristofer M. (May 2019). "Temporal shifts in the distribution of murine rodent body size classes at Liang Bua (Flores, Indonesia) reveal new insights into the paleoecology of Homo floresiensis and associated fauna". Journal of Human Evolution. 130: 45–60. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.02.002. hdl:2440/121139.