Chinese white-bellied rat

The Chinese white-bellied rat (Niviventer confucianus), also called the Confucian white-bellied rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is widely spread in China and also occurs in northern Myanmar, northwest Thailand and northwest Vietnam, and it might also occur in northern Laos. It belongs to the genus Niviventer in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World rats and mice, and was first described as Mus confucianus by A. Milne-Edwards in an 1871 report by A. David. Other names in use include Chinese niviventer, Confucian niviventer and sulphur-bellied rat. A 2020 study showed that a form once included in this species, Niviventer sacer, is a distinct species. The Mammal Diversity Database lists it as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.