Cloud rats are characterized by long furry or hairy tails and short hind limbs with grasping feet. They spend most of their time in the canopy of cloud forests, hence the name "cloud rat" or "cloudrunner". They are believed to be entirely herbivorous, primarily eating leaves, buds, bark, fruits, and seeds. Their ecology and behavior are poorly known. Cloud rats belonging to the genera Batomys, Crateromys, and Phloeomys are typically large, with the largest species being Phloeomys pallidus (reaching up to Script error: No such module "convert". in weight) and Crateromys schadenbergi (reaching up to Script error: No such module "convert". in weight). They measure from around Script error: No such module "convert". in length. Members of the genera Carpomys and Batomys are smaller, with a maximum weight of Script error: No such module "convert". and Script error: No such module "convert"., respectively. The smallest are members of the recently described genus Musseromys, with a recorded weight of only Script error: No such module "convert". and body lengths of only Script error: No such module "convert"..[2][5]
Conservation
Several species of cloud rats are classified as endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN. Cloud rats are primarily threatened with habitat loss and human encroachment due to the extensive deforestation of the Philippines. Larger species of cloud rats (Phloeomys and Crateromys spp.) are also hunted for food, usually by hunter-gatherer tribes in the mountains of the Philippines. In some areas, they are the most commonly hunted species, and hundreds of animals are estimated to be killed annually. Hunting or possession of wildlife is illegal in the Philippines, under Republic Act 9147 (the Wildlife Protection and Conservation Law of 2001), but enforcement still remains problematic.[4][6][7][8][9]
The cloud rat clade (the "Phloeomys division", sensu Musser & Carleton, 2005), now treated as the tribe Phloeomyini (LeCompte et al., 2008), includes the closely related genera Batomys (hairy-taled rats), Carpomys (dwarf cloud rats), Crateromys (bushy-tailed cloud rats), Musseromys (Luzon tree mice), and Phloeomys (giant cloud rats). They belong to the subfamilyMurinae of the familyMuridae (rats and mice).[14][2][15]
BatomysThomas, 1895Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Hairy-tailed rats[16][17]
Batomys dentatusMiller, 1911Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Large-toothed hairy-tailed rat
Batomys grantiThomas, 1895Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Luzon hairy-tailed rat
Batomys hamiguitanBalete, Heaney, Rickart, Quidlat & Ibanez, 2008Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat
Batomys russatusMusser, Heaney & Tabaranza Jr., 1998Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Dinagat hairy-tailed rat
Batomys salomonseni(Sanborn, 1953)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Mindanao hairy-tailed rat
Batomys uragonBalete, Rickart, Heaney & Jansa, 2015Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
CrateromysThomas, 1895Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Bushy-tailed cloud rats
Crateromys australisMusser, Heaney & Rabor, 1985Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Dinagat Island cloud rat, rediscovered in 2012
Crateromys schadenbergi(Meyer, 1895)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Giant bushy-tailed cloud rat
Crateromys paulusMusser & Gordon, 1981Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Ilin Island cloud rat, collected in 1981 through a dead specimen[19]
Crateromys heaneyiGonzales & Kennedy, 1996Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". - Panay bushy-tailed cloud rat
