Large Mindoro forest mouse

The large Mindoro forest mouse (Apomys gracilirostris) is a rodent of the family Muridae and the genus Apomys, found only in the Philippines. It is known from the northern flank of Mount Halcon on the island of Mindoro, where sixteen animals were captured in May and June 1992 at elevations between about 1,255 and 1,900 metres; those animals remain the only specimens known. Luis A. Ruedas described it in 1995. Among its relatives it stands out for a large body, large feet, a long tail and an elongated snout, together with very thin, short upper incisors and long lower incisors, so unusual that Ruedas first thought he had found a new genus. The soft fur is mostly dark brown. Its closest relative is thought to be the Luzon montane forest mouse, from which it is estimated to have split about three million years ago. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and very little is known about its behaviour or reproduction.