Short-footed Luzon tree rat

The short-footed Luzon tree rat, also called the greater dwarf cloud rat, Carpomys melanurus, is a rodent in the family Muridae found only in the Philippines, specifically in northern Luzon, where its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forest. Oldfield Thomas described it in 1895 from a type specimen collected on Mount Data during an expedition by Whitehead. The original description gives it soft, thick, woolly fur that is deep fulvous lined with black, a tail longer than the head and body, and broad heavy teeth. The species was long thought to be extinct until researchers including Danilo Balete found a specimen in the canopy of Mount Pulag National Park in 2008, the first scientifically observed individual since 1896; it weighed about 185 grams.