Indomalayan Spiny Rat

The Indomalayan spiny rat, also called the red spiny rat, is a forest-dwelling murid. Its scientific name was formerly written Maxomys surifer, but current specialist classification places it in Crunomys. The species was originally described from the mountains of Trang in southern Thailand at roughly 900 m elevation (Mammal Diversity Database; Journal of Mammalogy systematic revision).

Its broad range covers Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, continuing through the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, Java and Borneo. Recent genomic work indicates that animals historically grouped under this name contain considerable genetic and morphological variation and may represent a species complex, so fine-scale biological claims are avoided here (Mammal Diversity Database; specialist systematic study). It is Nationally Least Concern (Thailand Red Data 2025).