Apomys

Apomys
	Large Mindoro forest mouse (Apomys gracilirostris)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Subfamily:	Murinae
Tribe:	Hydromyini
Genus:	Apomys; Mearns, 1905
Type species
	Apomys hylocetes; Mearns, 1905
Species
	Apomys abrae; Apomys aurorae; Apomys banahao; Apomys brownorum; Apomys camiguinensis; Apomys datae; Apomys gracilirostris; Apomys hylocetes; Apomys insignis; Apomys iridensis; Apomys littoralis; Apomys lubangensis; Apomys magnus; Apomys microdon; Apomys minganensis; Apomys musculus; Apomys sacobianus; Apomys sierrae; Apomys zambalensis

Apomys, commonly known as earthworm mice, is a genus of rodent endemic to the Philippines. Mice belonging to this genus are generally called Philippine forest mice and can be found on most islands of the Philippines except in Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and the Batanes and Babuyan group of islands.

Apomys mice weigh from 18g to 128g. The tail is longer or nearly equal the length of the head and body. The soft and thick fur of these mice is darker on the back while the front fur is paler, often nearly white with a moderate orange yellow wash. The hind feet are moderately long and narrow, have six plantar pads, and have digits 2–4 notably longer than digit 5 and the hallux. All species have two pairs of inguinal mammae.^[1]

Species

Nineteen species are known in two subgenera:^[2]^[3]^[1]^[4]

Subgenus Apomys - smaller, arboreal species
- Camiguin forest mouse, A. camiguinensis Heaney & Tabaranza, 2006
- Mount Apo forest mouse, A. hylocoetes Mearns, 1905
- Mindanao montane forest mouse, A. insignis Mearns, 1905
- Mindanao lowland forest mouse, A. littoralis Sanborn, 1952
- Small Luzon forest mouse, A. microdon Hollister, 1913
- Least forest mouse, A. musculus Miller, 1911
Subgenus Megapomys - larger, ground-living species
- Luzon Cordillera forest mouse, A. abrae Sanborn, 1952
- Luzon Aurora forest mouse, A. aurorae Heaney, Balete, Alviola, Duya, Veluz, VandeVrede & Steppan, 2011
- Mount Banahaw forest mouse, A. banahao Heaney, Balete, Alviola, Duya, Veluz, VandeVrede & Steppan, 2011
- Mount Tapulao forest mouse, A. brownorum Heaney, Balete, Alviola, Duya, Veluz, VandeVrede & Steppan, 2011
- Luzon montane forest mouse, A. datae Meyer, 1899
- Large Mindoro forest mouse, A. gracilirostris Ruedas, 1995
- Mount Irid forest mouse, A. iridensis Heaney, Balete, Veluz, Steppan, Esseltyn, Pfeiffer & Rickart, 2014
- Lubang forest mouse, A. lubangensis Heaney, Balete, Veluz, Steppan, Esseltyn, Pfeiffer & Rickart, 2014
- Luzon giant forest mouse, A. magnus Heaney, Balete, Alviola, Duya, Veluz, VandeVrede & Steppan, 2011
- Mount Mingan forest mouse, A. minganensis Heaney, Balete, Alviola, Duya, Veluz, VandeVrede & Steppan, 2011
- Long-nosed Luzon forest mouse, A. sacobianus Johnson, 1962
- Sierra Madre forest mouse, A. sierrae Heaney, Balete, Alviola, Duya, Veluz, VandeVrede & Steppan, 2011
- Luzon Zambales forest mouse, A. zambalensis Heaney, Balete, Alviola, Duya, Veluz, VandeVrede & Steppan, 2011

Several species also awaits formal description.

The species generally inhabit narrow ecological niches with small endemic ranges.

References

^ ^a ^b Heaney, L; Balete D; Rickart E; Alviola P; Duya M; Duya M; Veluz M; VandeVrede L; Steppan S (2011). "Seven New Species and a New Subgenus of Forest Mice (Rodentia: Muridae: Apomys) from Luzon Island". Fieldiana Life and Earth Sciences. doi:10.3158/2158-5520-2.1.1. S2CID 86544405.
^ Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
^ Heaney, L.R.; Tabaranza B.R. Jr. (2006). "A new species of forest mouse, genus Apomys (Mammalia: Rodentia: Muridae), from Camiguin Island, Philippines". Fieldiana Zoology. 106: 14–27. doi:10.3158/0015-0754(2006)106[14:ansofm]2.0.co;2. S2CID 85757707.
^ Heaney, L.R.; Balete, D.S.; Veluz, M.J.; Steppan, S.J.; Esseltyn, J.A.; Pfeiffer, A.W.; Rickart, E.A. (2014). "Two new species of Philippine forest mice (Apomys, Muridae, Rodentia) from Lubang and Luzon Islands, with a redescription of Apomys sacobianus Johnson, 1962". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 126 (4): 395–413. doi:10.2988/0006-324X-126.4.395. S2CID 49347286.