Golden-backed Tree Rat

Golden-backed tree rats are named for their broad stripe of golden-coloured fur that runs from the top of its head to the base of their tail, of which has a white brush tip. They are nocturnal and arboreal. During day, they sleep in their nests made in hollow trees, dense foliage or among rocks. They range in size from 18 to 34 cm with a 29 to 36 cm tail, and weigh 200-330 grams. Golden-backed tree rats are thought to breed throughout the year, with a gestation period of 48 days and litter size of 2. Their young are weaned at either six or seven weeks old. In captivity, the maximum longevity of a golden-back tree rat is 7.1 years.

Diet. The golden-backed tree rat forages mainly on fruits, travelling through areas with recently burnt vegetation to reach them. Their diet also consists of flowers, grasses and insects.

The golden-backed tree rat is endemic to Australia. Its range is known to have included parts of the Northern Territory, where only three historical records of its presence in the territory is known. These being the upper McArthur River in 1901, upper Mary River in 1903, and in the Deaf Adder George of Kakadu National Park in 1969. However, recent surveys have since failed to detect any signs of golden-backed tree rat populations in mainland NT. Local Australian Aboriginal knowledge from the Top End however suggests that the disappearance of golden-backed tree rats from the region occurred between the late 2000s and early 2010s. There is still however the possibility that the species is still present in the NT. In Western Australia, the golden-backed tree rat once had a range across parts of the Pilbara and the Kimberley. Subfossils of the species have been identified in the Pilbara, and the type specimen originally came from near Roebourne in the Pilbara when the species was identified in 1875. During the 1800s in Broome, the golden-backed tree rat was once so common that it was considered a pest. When Norwegian zoologist Knut Dahl visited Broome in 1896, he recorded that they raided bags of rice and flour around town. …

The indigenous Wunambal people have traditionally used the tails of golden-backed tree rats to make special necklaces.

Name. Golden-backed tree rats are known as Koorrawal, Wunggangbarn, or Jari in Wunambal, and in the Yiiji dialect of Wunambal spoken by the Yeidji people, it is called Jari Manya. A synonym for Mesembriomys macrurus is Hapalotis boweri, named by Edward Pierson Ramsay in 1887 when he incorrectly identified specimens forwarded by his friend and colleague Thomas Henry Boyer-Bower as a new species. Ramsay named Hapalotis boweri in honour of Boyer-Bower who had recently died.

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