Fawn-footed Mosaic-tailed Rat
Encyclopedia
The Fawn-footed Mosaic-tailed Rat, or Fawn-footed Melomys (Melomys cervinipes) is a species of rodent
in the family Muridae
.
It is found only in Australia
.
This species has long been commonly known by the descriptive English common name Fawn-footed Melomys, but during the 1990s there was a push for such names to be replaced with indigenous Australian names. Accordingly, in 1995 the Australian Nature Conservation Agency published recommendations for the common names of rodents. They compiled two indigenous Australian names for this species: Corrill, recorded from Stradbroke Island
; and Cunduoo, recorded from the vicinity of the Richmond River
. They recommended the adoption of the former of these names, but with the orthography
Korril. However this recommendation was not prescriptive, and it remains to be seen to what extent it will be adopted.
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
in the family Muridae
Muridae
Muridae is the largest family of mammals. It contains over 600 species found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. They have been introduced worldwide. The group includes true mice and rats, gerbils, and relatives....
.
It is found only in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
This species has long been commonly known by the descriptive English common name Fawn-footed Melomys, but during the 1990s there was a push for such names to be replaced with indigenous Australian names. Accordingly, in 1995 the Australian Nature Conservation Agency published recommendations for the common names of rodents. They compiled two indigenous Australian names for this species: Corrill, recorded from Stradbroke Island
Stradbroke Island
Stradbroke Island, also known as Minjerribah, was a large sand island that formed much of the eastern side of Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Queensland until the late 19th century...
; and Cunduoo, recorded from the vicinity of the Richmond River
Richmond River
The Richmond River is a river in the north-eastern corner of New South Wales, Australia. It runs for approximately 170 km from the foothills of the Border Ranges past the towns of Kyogle, Casino, Coraki, Woodburn, where it turns northward and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Ballina. It has a...
. They recommended the adoption of the former of these names, but with the orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
Korril. However this recommendation was not prescriptive, and it remains to be seen to what extent it will be adopted.