Verhoeven's giant rat

Verhoeven's giant rat (Papagomys theodorverhoeveni) is an extinct rat of subfamily Murinae that lived on Flores in Indonesia.^[1] It was judged to be extinct in 1996. However, experts believe that it died out before 1500 AD. The species is known only from several subfossil fragments. It was named after Dutch priest Theodor Verhoeven. A 1974 report of a recent specimen has been judged to represent P. armandvillei instead.^[2] It was somewhat smaller than P. armandivillei, with an estimated body mass of around 0.6–1.6 kilograms (1.3–3.5 lb). It is assumed to have been terrestrial, and to have been an omnivore, consuming fruit and invertebrates.^[3]

Verhoeven's giant tree rat Temporal range: Holocene
Holotypes of Papagomys theodorverhoeveni (above) and Papagomys armandvillei (below), with four diagnostic characters marked
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Genus:	Papagomys
Species:	P. theodorverhoeveni
Binomial name
Papagomys theodorverhoeveni Musser, 1981