Nillu rat

The Nillu rat, also called the Sri Lankan mountain rat, Rattus montanus, is a rodent in the family Muridae found only in Sri Lanka. It is known as Nillu Eli in Tamil and Nelu Meeya in Sinhalese. Its range is the central highlands of the Central and Uva provinces, with records from Knuckles, Horton Plains, Nuwara Eliya and Ohiya. It is grayish brown with a reddish tinge on the back, darkest along the spine, with gray underparts grading into whitish and a white chin and upper throat. Head and body length is 16 to 17 centimetres and the tail is 20 to 22 centimetres, blackish brown with fine dark hairs. The whiskers are long and shiny black and the soft fur reaches about 45 millimetres on the back.