Continued survival of the elusive Seram orange melomys (Melomys fulgens)

Turvey, Samuel T; Jeffree, Timothy E; Macdonald, Alastair A; Leus, Kristin; Kennerley, Rosalind J; Maharadatunkamsi; Kitchener, Andrew C

Continued survival of the elusive Seram orange melomys (Melomys fulgens)

Resource type

Journal article

Creator (person)

Turvey, Samuel T

ORCID

Jeffree, Timothy E

Macdonald, Alastair A

Leus, Kristin

Kennerley, Rosalind J

Maharadatunkamsi

Kitchener, Andrew C

ORCID

Date published

May 25, 2023

Abstract

Many poorly-known small mammals have remained undetected for decades, including , a distinctive orange murid from Seram, Indonesia, that has been unrecorded since 1920. We report previously undocumented specimens of collected in 1993 and 1994, and local ecological knowledge from 2017 including descriptions and recent sightings, providing strong indirect evidence of its continued survival in similar habitat to known collection localities. These findings indicate relatively widespread distribution of in low-elevation coastal forest across Seram, raising hope for continued survival of Seram’s other ‘lost’ small mammals.