Snow Mountains grassland mosaic-tailed rat

The Snow Mountains grassland mosaic-tailed rat, Melomys frigicola, is a rodent of the family Muridae that is also called the Snow Mountains grassland melomys. It lives only in the mountainous western part of the island of New Guinea, in Papua Province, Indonesia, where its range runs from Lake Habbema to the Baliem Valley. It is found at altitudes between 1,600 and 2,200 metres above sea level, in grassland and other disturbed areas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature rates it Least Concern, because although its range is fairly small it is plentiful in some areas, tolerates disturbance to its habitat and faces no particular threats. Its population may be declining somewhat, but not fast enough to justify a more threatened category.