---
title: "Ryukyu Islands Tree Rat"
description: "Diplothrix legata — Mammals. The Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat or Ryukyu rat (Diplothrix legata), also known as the rodent in the family Muridae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/ryukyu-islands-tree-rat
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Ryukyu Islands Tree Rat

> Diplothrix legata — Mammals. The Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat or Ryukyu rat (Diplothrix legata), also known as the rodent in the family Muridae.

- Scientific name: *Diplothrix legata*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 75
- Wikidata: [Q302937](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q302937)
- iNaturalist taxon: [74278](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/74278)

## Names

- en: Ryukyu Islands Tree Rat
- de: Ryukyu-Ratte
- es: Diplothrix legatus
- fr: Diplothrix legatus
- nl: Diplothrix

## Countries with the most observations

JP (68)

## Summary

The Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat or Ryukyu rat (Diplothrix legata), also known as the rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only extant species in the genus Diplothrix and is endemic to the central Ryukyu Islands of Japan (Amami-oshima, Tokuno-shima, and Okinawa-jima). Its natural habitat consists of temperate forests.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukyu_long-tailed_giant_rat

## Photo

![Ryukyu Islands Tree Rat](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/ryukyu-islands-tree-rat/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jun MATSUI · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/279777537

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/ryukyu-islands-tree-rat?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).