Order Rodentia - Family Muridae Author Wilson, Don E. Author Reeder, DeeAnn text 2005 The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2 1189 1531 book chapter 0-8018-8221-4 10.5281/zenodo.7316535 Diplothrix legata (Thomas 1906) [Lenothrix] legata Thomas 1906 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 17: 88 . Type Locality: Japan , Ryukyu Isls, Amami-oshima Isl. Vernacular Names: Ryukyu Islands Tree Rat . Synonyms: Diplothrix okinavensis (Namie 1909) . Distribution: Japan , Ryukyu Isls of Amami-oshima, Tokun-oshima, and Okinawa (known by modern specimens only in north, but by Quaternary fossils from farther south on island, and from Miyako Isl, about 250 km SW of Okinawa ; see Kawamura, 1989 , 1991 , 1994 ). Conservation: IUCN – Endangered. Discussion: Historical allocation of legata with either Lenothrix or Rattus is reviewed by Kawamura (1989) . Phylogenetic relationship–discerned from molar occlusal patterns, cranial morphology, and body form–is close to Rattus and far from Lenothrix ; "phylogeny of this unique genus will be sufficiently understood, when the fossil murids from China , India and Southeast Asia will be investigated in detail" ( Kawamura, 1989:110 ). Analyses of mtDNA cytochrome b and nuclear IRBP gene sequences support morphological data in clustering D. legata with the species of Rattus used ( R. norvegicus , R. argentiventer , and R. rattus ) and not with the other murines sampled (species of Apodemus , Micromys , Mus , and Tokudaia ), and support the hypothesis that D. legata is a survivor from Pliocene and early Pleistocene immigrant ancestral population to the Ryukyus ( Suzuki et al., 2000 ). Chromosomal data reviewed by Tsuchiya (1981) . A review by Kaneko (1994) includes beautiful color photographs of live rats showing their long well-haired tail and long body guard hairs extending far beyond the dorsal coat, which are features common to many species of arboreal murines, particularly those in the Rattus Division.