Long-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat

The long-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys talaudium) is a rodent of the family Muridae, also called the long-tailed Talaud melomys. It lives only on Karakelong and Salebabu, two of the Talaud Islands in Indonesia, where it occurs in forest habitats. It is largely arboreal, which sets it apart from the short-tailed mosaic-tailed rat that shares the islands and is likely to live mainly on the ground. It looks much like the white-bellied mosaic-tailed rat and was once treated as a subspecies of that animal before being recognised as a species in its own right. The International Union for Conservation of Nature rates it Endangered, because its population is thought to be falling, the natural forest on the islands is steadily being cleared, and its total range covers only about 1,000 square kilometres (390 square miles).