A reassessment of the type locality of the giant rat Solomys salamonis (Rodentia : Muridae) from the Solomon Islands
Tyrone H. LaverySchool of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4343, Australia. Email: tyrone.lavery@uq.edu.au
Australian Mammalogy 36(1) 99-102 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM13019
Submitted: 14 June 2013 Accepted: 18 November 2013 Published: 19 December 2013
Abstract
The Solomon Islands support a diverse and highly endemic rodent fauna. Most species are poorly known and rarely encountered. Solomys salamonis is one such endemic species known only from the holotype collected in 1881. The type locality for the species has been repeatedly confused in the literature, and this uncertainty has hampered attempts to evaluate the status of the species. I reassessed the type locality based on review of the published literature and records and archives of the Australian Museum, Sydney. My review indicates that the type locality is Ugi Island, not Florida Island as widely reported in the recent literature. A subsequent, preliminary survey on Ugi Island failed to confirm the presence of the species; however, the occurrence of some original forest on Ugi Island encourages further detailed surveys to determine whether S. salamonis is still extant.
Additional keywords: extinct, Florida, Ugi Island.
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