Long-footed water rat

The long-footed water rat (Leptomys elegans) is a rodent of the family Muridae found in the mountains of southern Papua New Guinea and endemic to the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. Its range includes the Owen Stanley Range, Mount Dayman, Mount Sisa and Mount Victory, at altitudes from 400 to 1,600 m. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest, and it also uses secondary forest and old gardens and is presumed to occur in primary forest too. Relatively few specimens have been observed. No particular threats are known; it is sometimes hunted, presumably for food, but this is unlikely to matter much for the species. It was once classified as critically endangered, but it has since been found to be more widely distributed and more plentiful than was thought and has been reclassified as Least Concern.