A prominent tuft（一簇） of spiny¹ hair on the back, a white tail tip and three pairs of teats（乳头） represent the unique set of characteristics describing a new genus of rat which has been discovered in the Moluccan province of Indonesia. This region had a profound influence on the British Naturalist² Alfred Russell Wallace who independently developed the theory of evolution alongside Charles Darwin. The international team of zoologists³ was led by the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense in Indonesia and the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen One hundred years after the death of Sir Alfred Russel Wallace, an international team of zoologists has discovered a new genus of mammal in the Halmahera Island in Indonesia. It is located in Wallacea, an Eastern Indonesian region named after the British Naturalist himself. The team was surprised to find the new endemic rodent⁴ close to the locality of Boki Mekot, a mountainous area under severe ecological⁵ threat due to mining and deforestation.

 

The species is only known in this locality and is named Halmaheramys bokimekot. Project leader Pierre-Henri Fabre from the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate states:

 

"This new rodent highlights the large amount of unknown biodiversity in this Wallacean region and the importance of its conservation. It constitutes a valuable addition to our knowledge of the Wallacean biodiversity and much remains⁶ to be learned about mammalian biodiversity across this region. Zoologists must continue to explore this area in order to discover and describe new species in this highly diverse, but also threatened region."

 

Halmaheramys bokimekot is a terrestrial（陆地的） spiny rat of medium body size with brownish grey fur on its back and a greyish white belly⁷. Together with its other characteristics it represents a unique set of features that has never been reported before in the Moluccas.

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