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Burmese Tree Rat

Chiromyscus chiropus
LC · Least concern Rodentia Muridae
Activity
Nocturnal.
Sociability
Solitary.

Description

An Indochinese tree rat whose common name honours the Italian naturalist who collected the first known specimens in the Burmese hills in the late 19th century.

How to identify it

Medium-sized and adapted for arboreal life; distinguishing it from other tree rats in the region usually requires careful comparison of cranial features, given the strong overall resemblance within the group.

Signs and tracks

Arboreal; builds nests among the vegetation and leaves nibbled plant material on the branches where it feeds (tracks and signs).

Habitat and range

Forest of southern China (Yunnan), eastern Myanmar, northern Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

Diet

Presumably herbivorous and omnivorous, like other tree rats in the region.

Behaviour

Arboreal, with habits that remain poorly documented in detail.

Conservation

A widely distributed species considered of Least Concern, with no evidence of significant decline.

Threats

No major threats have been identified on a global scale.

Other accounts in Muridae

See all species accounts for rodents · Full species index

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