Short-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat

The short-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat or the short-tailed Talaud melomys (Melomys caurinus) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.^[2] It is endemic to Karakelong and Salebabu in the Talaud Islands in Indonesia where it occurs in forest habitats. The long-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys talaudium) is also present on the islands and the shorter tail of this species means that it is likely to be mainly terrestrial whereas M. talaudium is largely arboreal.^[1]

Short-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Genus:	Melomys
Species:	M. caurinus
Binomial name
Melomys caurinus Thomas, 1921

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "endangered" because its population size is thought to be decreasing, the natural forest on the island is progressively being cleared, and the total area of occurrence of this species is around 1,000 km² (390 sq mi).^[1]