Luzon montane forest mouse

The Luzon montane forest mouse (Apomys datae) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae, in the genus Apomys. It occurs only in the Philippines, where it has been found on the large northern island of Luzon, in the Cordillera Central and on the coast of Ilocos Norte. It is a large, thickset, ground-dwelling rat with soft, thick dark brown fur above and cream white fur below, and its tail, about as long as the body, is short for its genus. One specimen has a head and body length of 143 mm and a tail of 144 mm. It is most closely related to the large Mindoro forest mouse, and a molecular clock study estimated that the two split about three million years ago, in the Pliocene. It belongs to the Chrotomys division of Philippine murines.