NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Grassland Melomys
Melomys burtoni (Ramsay, 1887)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The grassland mosaic-tailed rat, or grassland melomys (Melomys burtoni), is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. In Australia it is found along the northern coast from Kimberley to New South Wales. In the Top End it is often found in Pandanus (P. spiralis). Kunwinjku of western Arnhem Land call this animal mulbbu.
Wikipedia contributors, Grassland mosaic-tailed rat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:02:39.509206+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melomys burtoni (Ramsay, 1887)
- Name authority
- (Ramsay, 1887)
- Common name
- Grassland Melomys
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Muridae
- Genus
- Melomys
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
- superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
- familyMuridae Illiger, 1811
- subfamilyMurinae Illiger, 1811
- genusMelomys Thomas, 1922
- speciesMelomys burtoni (Ramsay, 1887)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Melomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cape York MelomysMelomys capensis Tate, 1951 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Short-tailed Talaud MelomysMelomys caurinus (Thomas, 1921) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dollman's MelomysMelomys dollmani Rümmler, 1935 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Snow Mountains Grassland MelomysMelomys frigicola Tate, 1951 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Seram Long-tailed MelomysMelomys fulgens (Thomas, 1920) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Riama Island MelomysMelomys howi Kitchener, in Kitchener & Suyanto, 1996 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-bellied MelomysMelomys leucogaster (Jentink, 1908) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Obi Island MelomysMelomys obiensis (Thomas, 1911) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pavel's Seram MelomysMelomys paveli Helgen, 2003 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-tailed MelomysMelomys rufescens (Alston, 1877) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Buka Island MelomysMelomys spechti Flannery & Wickler, 1990 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Papua Grassland MelomysMelomys lutillus (Thomas, 1913) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Melomys australius Thomas, 1924 Thomas, 1924 | synonym |
| Melomys callopes Finlayson, 1943 Finlayson, 1943 | synonym |
| Melomys mixtus Troughton, 1935 Troughton, 1935 | synonym |
| Melomys cervinipes albiventer Kellogg, 1945 Kellogg, 1945 | synonym |
| Uromys littoralis (Lönnberg, 1916) (Lönnberg, 1916) | synonym |
| Melomys littoralis insulae Troughton & Le Souef, 1929 Troughton & Le Souef, 1929 | synonym |
| Uromys murinus Thomas, 1913 Thomas, 1913 | synonym |
| Uromys melicus Thomas, 1913 Thomas, 1913 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=585346 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3ZMWP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.