National Museum of Natural Science

This is a medium-sized rat, weighing 95-180 grams, that is endemic to Taiwan. Its dorsal pelage is tawny and its ventral pelage is milky white, with an obvious boundary between the two. The tail is very long and white at the tip. Along the back are transparent bristles that form soft spines, mixed in among the hairs. This species is widely distributed in forests at 1,300 meters or less above sea level in Taiwan. This rat can climb to the tops of relatively tall trees where it is active and, as such, is occasionally mistaken for a squirrel. Although omnivorous, it mainly feeds on rhizomes and seeds.

Text/Chen Yan-Jun, Chen Mu-Xuan

Photo/Huang Xiao-Ting

Coxing's white-bellied rat