Maxomys is a genus of rodents, widespread in Southeast Asia. They are mid-sized rodents, similar to rats, that live on the ground of tropical rainforests. There they build nests, padded with fallen leaves from trees. They feed on roots, fallen fruit, and other plants, as well as insects. All species are shy and avoid food from humans.
The genus Maxomys was originally considered a subgenus of Rattus, the rat genus. When it became established as its own genus in the 1960s, Maxomys was often combined with the genera Niviventer and Leopoldamys. In the currently accepted taxonomy, Musser, Marshall, and Boeadi established Maxomys in 1979.
List of species Genus Maxomys - rajah rats:
Mountain spiny rat, Maxomys alticola Thomas, 1888, Borneo Small spiny rat, Maxomys baeodon Thomas, 1894, Borneo Bartels's spiny rat, Maxomys bartelsii Jentink, 1910, Java Dollman's spiny rat, Maxomys dollmani Ellerman, 1941, Sulawesi Hellwald's spiny rat, Maxomys hellwaldii Jentink, 1878, Sulawesi Sumatran spiny rat, Maxomys hylomyoides Robinson and Kloss, 1916, Sumatra Malayan mountain spiny rat, Maxomys inas Bonhote, 1906, Malayan Peninsula Fat-nosed spiny rat, Maxomys inflatus Robinson and Kloss, 1916, Sumatra Mo's spiny rat, Maxomys moi Robinson and Kloss, 1922, Vietnam, Laos Musschenbroek's spiny rat, Maxomys musschenbroekii Jentink, 1878, Sulawesi Chestnut-bellied spiny rat, Maxomys ochraceiventer Thomas, 1894, Borneo Pagai spiny rat, Maxomys pagensis Miller, 1903, Mentawai Islands Palawan spiny rat, Maxomys panglima Robinson, 1921, Palawan and neighboring islands Rajah spiny rat, Maxomys rajah Thomas, 1894, Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo Red spiny rat, Maxomys surifer Miller, 1900, Sumatra, Java, Borneo Maxomys tajuddinii Achmadi, Maryanto & Maharadatunkamsi, 2012, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo Watts's spiny rat, Maxomys wattsi Musser, 1991, Sulawesi Whitehead's spiny rat, Maxomys whiteheadi Thomas, 1894, Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo
References
Further reading
Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 G.G. Musser, J.T. Marshall Jr. & B. Boeadi: Definition and contents of the Sundaic genus Maxomys (Rodentia, Muridae). In: Journal of Mammalogy 1979, Bd. 60, S. 592–606.
This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article on the German Wikipedia.