Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates/Oryzomys antillarum/archive1
Blurb
[edit]
Oryzomys antillarum, the Jamaican rice rat, is an extinct rodent of Jamaica, similar to O. couesi of mainland Central America, from where it may have dispersed to its island during the last glacial period. It is common in subfossil cave faunas and is also known from three live 19th century specimens. It probably became extinct late in the 19th century, perhaps due to the introduction of the small Asian mongoose, competition with introduced rodents such as the brown rat, and habitat destruction. Oryzomys antillarum was a medium-sized rat, similar in most respects to O. couesi. Its length was 120 to 132 mm (4.7 to 5.2 in) and the skull was about 30 mm (1.2 in) long. The upperparts were reddish and the underparts were yellowish. The tail was about as long as the head and body, sparsely haired, and darker above than below. It differed from O. couesi in having longer nasal bones, shorter incisive foramina (perforations of the palate), and more robust cheekbones. (This article is part of a featured topic: Oryzomys .)