ILIN ISLAND CLOUDRUNNER

The Ilin Island Cloudrunner is not at all related to Luke Skywalker.  It was a fluffy coated rat the size of a house cat that lived high in the mountains of Ilin Island in the Philippine Island group.  It is only know from one specimen collected April 4, 1953 by Pablo Soriano.  He gave this specimen to the Museum of Natural History in DC.  

 There are 4 types of cloudrunners, also known as cloud rats.  All cloudrunners belong to the group Crateromys.  Not much is known about this elusive group of aniamls.  The Panay Cloudrunner for instance was unknown to scientists until 1987, and wasn't even labeled as a species until 1996.

 The Ilin Island Cloudrunners lived in trees and were nocturnal.  They were believed to eat fruits and leaves in the mountain forests.  

 Most of the forests on Ilin Island have been cut down by people, so it seems that they succumbed to habitat loss soon after Soriano's specimen was collected.

 Additional Resources:

 There aren't many resources on the Ilin Island cloudrunner, but you can google it for a few additional facts

 The book A Gap in Nature by Tim Flannery & Peter Schouten also contains a little more information.
A picture of the Cloudrunner




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