Giant white-tailed rat

The giant white-tailed rat (Uromys caudimaculatus) is one of the largest rodents in Australia, reaching about one kilogram. It lives in the tropical rainforest of north Queensland, and other populations occur in New Guinea and the Aru Islands. The fur is grey-brown above and cream to white below, and the long naked tail has a white distal section that gives the animal its name. Breeding begins in September or October and peaks in December and January, at the height of the wet season; after a gestation of about 36 days the female bears two to three young, rarely four, which stay with her for roughly three months. Its common name has been debated: in 1995 the Australian Nature Conservation Agency compiled six Aboriginal names for it, including Durrgim, Durrkin and Thupi, and recommended Mati, though that recommendation was not prescriptive. In Papua New Guinea the Kalam call it kabkal.