Spiny Boki Mekot rat

The spiny Boki Mekot rat (Halmaheramys bokimekot) is a medium-sized terrestrial rodent known only from the Boki Mekot area of Halmahera, an island in the Molucca archipelago of Indonesia, and its discovery was announced in 2013. It was recognised as a new species and as the sole member of a new genus, Halmaheramys, using morphological and molecular evidence, and it is the only murine rodent endemic to Halmahera. The rat has a long face, spiky brownish grey fur on the back with a prominent tuft of spiny hairs, a greyish white belly, a tail shorter than the head and body with a white tip, three pairs of teats and litters of at least three young. It is believed to be omnivorous. Genetic analysis suggests its ancestors reached Halmahera from the west, probably from Sulawesi, in a region where mining and deforestation threaten the habitat.