Squirrel-toothed rat

The squirrel-toothed rat, Anisomys imitator, is a rodent of the family Muridae, the large family of true mice and rats, and it is found in New Guinea. It is the only species in the genus Anisomys, which makes the genus monotypic. English-language sources give it several other names, including New Guinea giant rat, powerful-toothed rat, uneven-toothed rat and narrow-toothed giant rat, and in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea it is called gudi-ws or gudl-ws. The species has been recorded eating the nuts of the karuka, Pandanus julianettii, and growers put platforms or other obstacles on the trunks of the trees to keep these pests out. It was described by Oldfield Thomas in 1904, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility accepts the name Anisomys imitator Thomas, 1904 within the order Rodentia of the class Mammalia.