NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black-tailed Melomys
Melomys rufescens (Alston, 1877)
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 black-tailed mosaic-tailed rat or black-tailed melomys (Melomys rufescens) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found through much of New Guinea and also on some nearby islands, namely Salawati and Misool (Indonesia), and the Bismarck Archipelago (including New Britain and New Ireland).
Wikipedia contributors, Black-tailed 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 2026-10-05T07:42:08.951593+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melomys rufescens (Alston, 1877)
- Name authority
- (Alston, 1877)
- Common name
- Black-tailed 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 rufescens (Alston, 1877)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland MelomysMelomys burtoni (Ramsay, 1887) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| 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 |
| 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 gracilis (Thomas, 1906) (Thomas, 1906) | 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=585363 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:3ZMXM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.