Zoogeographical significance of the ricefield rat, Rattus argentiventer, on Celebes and New Guinea and the identity of Rattus pesticulus. American Museum novitates ; no. 2511

Abstract

"In the present report I document the identity of Rattus pesticulus, a taxon named and described by Oldfield Thomas (1921) from one specimen obtained in northeastern Celebes, with the ricefield rat, R. argentiventer. The ricefield rat lives in grasslands and fields of rice and has a spotty geographic distribution that extends from the mainland of Southeast Asia to the Philippines and New Guinea. I also list and discuss the scientific names that apply to R. argentiventer and point out the zoogeographic significance of its occurrence on Celebes and New Guinea"--P. [1].