It is only 50 km from New Guinea. The cay is in the eastern part of Torres Strait, off the northern tip of Australia. The Bramble Cay melomys (Also known as the Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat or the Bramble Cay Rat) is a rodent species native to Bramble Cay, a cay within the Great Barrier Reef. It was a nocturnal animal, and scientists believe it was a vegetarian. (Credit: Queensland Government) Bramble Cay melomys extinct? Brambe Cay is also used by green turtles and sea birds for nesting. The Bramble Cay melomys was known only from a small population in Bramble Cay, a vegetated coral cay of 340 by 150 metres (1,120 ft × 490 ft). A cay is a small, low island composed of coral rubble and vegetation, and as sea levels have risen so have the high tides that wash over Bramble Cay. Because of its isolation and low population, little is known about its behaviour. Bramble Cay is a breeding place for green turtles. Melomys is a genus of rodents in the family Muridae.Members of this genus live in the wet habitats of northern Australia (Far North Queensland), New Guinea, Torres Strait Islands and islands of the Indonesian archipelago.Species. The genus contains the following species: Dusky mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys aerosus); Rossel Island mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys arcium) It is possible that the species exists on the Papua New Guinean mainland which lies around 50 km away but there is no evidence for this to date. The surrounding sea is rich with algae and algae-loving fish such as unicornfish, wrasse and trumpetfish.
Scientists have noted it eating … Melomys rubicola was only ever recorded from Bramble Cay. The island was also home to the Bramble Cay melomys, an isolated species of rodent that was the first mammal species to be declared extinct as a consequence of human-caused climate change.
THe melomys is larger than the three other Australian species in the genus, with its body measuring 15-16.5cm long and tail 14.5-18.5cm long. While the size of the cay varies, the vegetation on it is shrinking, and this might be the main cause of the melomys’ decline. The Bramble Cay melomys, or Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys rubicola), is a recently extinct species of rodent in the family Muridae and subfamily Murinae.It was an endemic species of the isolated Bramble Cay, a vegetated coral cay located at the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The Bramble Cay melomys was the only mammal native to Bramble Cay before it's extinction.