NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Santa Lucia Giant Rice Rat
Megalomys luciae (Forsyth Major, 1901)
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.
Rat pilori de Sainte-Lucie (Megalomys luciae ), espèce éteinte. Specimen naturalisé exposé dans la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution au Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, à Paris.
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Open encyclopedia reference
Megalomys luciae, also known as the Saint Lucia pilorie or Saint Lucia giant rice rat, is an extinct rodent in the family Cricetidae. It was endemic to the island of Saint Lucia, in the Lesser Antilles.
Wikipedia contributors, Megalomys luciae; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:19:01.208166+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Megalomys luciae (Forsyth Major, 1901)
- Name authority
- (Forsyth Major, 1901)
- Common name
- Santa Lucia Giant Rice Rat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Cricetidae
- Genus
- Megalomys
- Extinction status
- Recorded extinct
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
- familyCricetidae Fischer, 1817
- subfamilySigmodontinae Wagner, 1843
- genusMegalomys Trouessart, 1881
- speciesMegalomys luciae (Forsyth Major, 1901)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Megalomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Antillean Giant Rice RatMegalomys desmarestii (Fischer, 1829) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
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=633147 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.
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:6QW3Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.