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 Protochromys fellowsi (Hinton 1943) [Melomys] fellowsi Hinton 1943 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 11, 10: 554 . Type Locality: Papua New Guinea , Purari-Ramu Divide, Baiyanka, 8000 ft ( 2440 m ). Vernacular Names: Papuan Protochromys . Distribution: Papua New Guinea ; known only from a few places at high elevations (usually above 2000 m ) in the Central Cordillera, from the Porgera area in the west (143 EE ) eastward to Mt Wilhelm in the Bismarck Range in the east (see Flannery, 1995 a :292); may range farther west and east in Papua New Guinea ( Menzies, 1996 ). Conservation: IUCN – Vulnerable as Melomys fellowsi . Discussion: Originally described as a very distinctive species of Melomys that resembles M. rufescens and M. leucogaster in some morphometric features ( Menzies, 1990 ). Its inclusion in Melomys has always been questioned by systematists familiar with the group. Recently, Menzies (1996) demonstrated that while fellowsi shared traits with both Melomys and Paramelomys , it should be separated from both groups of species because of its pale (unpigmented to pale yellow) incisors, narrow zygomatic plate, and alisphenoid strut. Its separation as a different monophyletic entity will have to be tested by phylogenetic analyses of the Melomys-Paramelomys complex that also incorporate molecular data and a broader array of morphological traits.