Name that rat: Molecular and morphological identification of Pacific rodent remains

Generally, species identification of rodent remains from archaeological sit es in the Pacific is made based on the overall size and robusticity of thos e bones most commonly recovered - mandibles and femora. Molecular identific ations of Pacific rat remains suggest that the current method of morphologi cal identification may not be appropriate for species identification. It ap pears that there is a high degree of size variation in Rattus exulans throu ghout the Pacific, and an overlap in size between R. exulans and other rat species present in the region. Our results suggest not only a need to re-ex amine our current methods for identification of rodent skeletal remains, bu t also, perhaps, our views on the distribution of various rodent species th roughout the Pacific, and the implications of such for the human prehistory of the region. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.