The Ankarana Special Reserve tufted-tailed rat (Eliurus carletoni ) (synonymous with Eliurus sp. SAJ-2009a) is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It was first described in 2009. It is endemic to Madagascar, in the Ankarana Special Reserve.
Members of the genus have been found to inhabit all the natural forest types on the island from humid forestation on the eastern side of the island to the xerophytic spiny bushes located in the southwest portion of the island. E. carletoni can be found specifically in the dry deciduous forests of Madagascar. Members of the species are known to inhabit forested areas resting on limestone outcrops. In Northern Madagascar, there are three regions of interest where E. carletoni live: the Loky-Manambato, Ankarana, and Analmerana.
Ankarana and Analamerana differ from Loky-Manambato in that they are solely areas of limestone. Loky-Manambato is highly heterogenous in its presence of large forested areas and many river systems. In fact, the Loky-Manambato region is so diverse in its make up that areas of dry forest and humid forest occur closely together only to be separated by mountains and rivers in some cases. The topographic distribution of the region includes elevations ranging from sea level up to 1170 meters. Though the Loky-Manambato region is very diverse, as previously stated, E. carletoni is found to only inhabit the dry forest areas.
