NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Saxatilomys paulinae Musser, Smith, Robinson & Lunde, 2005
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.
Living specimen of Saxatilomys paulinae from Quang Binh province, Vietnam (the nose is wounded by trapping).
Nghia Xuan Nguyen, Dang Xuan Nguyen, Tuong Xuan Ngo, Duy Dinh Nguyen · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Saxatilomys paulinae, Paulina's limestone rat, is a species of murid rodent native to central Laos and Vietnam, separated to a monotypic genus Saxatilomys. It was first discovered in the Khammouan Limestone National Biodiversity Conservation Area in Khammouan Province, Laos, and also been found in the Vietnamese province of Quang Bình. It is the only known species in the genus Saxatilomys. The genus name is derived from the Latin saxatilis, meaning "among the rocks" and the Greek mys, meaning mouse or rat.
Wikipedia contributors, Saxatilomys; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:47:28.763807+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Saxatilomys paulinae Musser, Smith, Robinson & Lunde, 2005
- Name authority
- Musser, Smith, Robinson & Lunde, 2005
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Muridae
- Genus
- Saxatilomys
- 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
- genusSaxatilomys Musser, Smith, Robinson & Lunde, 2005
- speciesSaxatilomys paulinae Musser, Smith, Robinson & Lunde, 2005
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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.
- Musser, Guy G., Angela L. Smith, M. F. Robinson, and Darrin P. Lunde. (2005). Description of a new genus and species of rodent (Murinae, Muridae, Rodentia) from the Khammouan Limestone National Biodiversity Conservation Area in Lao PDR. American Museum Novitates, No. 3497. 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:79QYQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.