Typhlomys macrourus Zheng

The giant pig-tailed rat belongs to the Platacanthomyidae family, a very unique and ancient family. There are only 2 genera and 6 species, 4 of which are in China. The 4 species in China originally only had one pig-tailed rat (<Typhlomys cinereus>), the type locality is Fujian, of which there are 2 subspecies, one in the border area between Vietnam and Yunnan, my country, and the other in Dalou Mountain between Chongqing and Guizhou. Chinese scientists Cheng Feng and others promoted these two subspecies to species (Cheng et al., 2017), and also discovered a new species: the small pig-tailed rat (<Typhlomys nanus>).

It is endemic to China and is distributed in Chongqing, Guizhou, Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi and Hubei.

There are only 16 teeth, and there are no canines or premolars in the upper and lower jaws. The fifth toe of the front foot is specialized into a big toe with a nail. The individual is larger than other species of pigtail rats, with a body length of 70-90mm. The tail is longer, averaging 140% of the body length. The back of the body is dark gray; the base of the hair on the ventral side is gray, and the tip of the hair is grayish white. The dorsal and ventral hair color boundaries are obvious. The ears are medium-sized and almost bare. The dorsal side of the front and rear feet is dark brown. The dorsal and ventral tails are the same color, with a white tail tip, forming a brush.