First scientific observation of the largest Sahulian rodent, Mallomys istapantap, in the wild

Abstract

The largest rodent of the Australian and Oceanian zoogeographic regions, the Subalpine Woolly Rat Mallomys istapantap, endemic to the tropical high mountains of New Guinea, has been scientifically observed and documented alive in the wild for the first time. Camera trap images and video, as well as photographs of the habitat (Mt. Wilhelm, 3,200–3,700 masl) and hunting with indigenous people, deepen our understanding of the activity patterns, locomotion, diet, intrageneric elevational partitioning, and behavioural ecology of the woolly rats. I report the first measurements of males of the species and discuss a previously unreported morphological trait. These are the first specimen records in 30 years for this spectacular mammal poorly known to science.