Tanyuromys aphrastus (Harris, 1932)

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Cricetidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 204-535 : 456

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6707142

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6708128

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F06D13-FF1F-20D6-0849-108D017AF4FD

treatment provided by

Carolina

scientific name

Tanyuromys aphrastus
status

 

501. View Plate 24: Cricetidae

Harris's Rice Water Rat

Tanyuromys aphrastus

French: Mélanomys a longue queue / German: Harris-Reiswasserratte / Spanish: Rata de agua de Harris

Other common names: Long-tailed Montane Rat, Long-tailed Sigmodontomys

Taxonomy. Oryzomys aphrastus Harris, 1932 View in CoL , San Joaquin de Dota, 1219 m, San José Province, Costa Rica.

Tanyuromys aphrastus is the type species of the genus. Monotypic.

Distribution. SE Costa Rica, W Panama, W Ecuador; and probably Colombia. View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head-body 116-152 mm, tail 176-235 mm, ear 17 mm, hindfoot 35-40 mm; weight 63 g. Harris’s Rice Water Rat is a medium-sized, very long-tailed oryzomyine, with long and robust hindfeet. Pelage is long and soft, upperparts are grizzled dark brown with orange highlights, and underparts are paler gray, with pronounced ocherous highlight. Dorso-ventral countershading is subtle. Ears are small and sparsely to moderately covered with blackish, dark brown, or reddish brown hair. Mystacial and superciliary vibrissae are very long. Manus and pes have sparse to moderate cover of pale brown to dark brown hairs dorsally. Hindfeet lack well-developed natatory fringes and interdigital webs and have sparse ungual tufts covering tips of claws. Tail is unicolored brown and sparsely haired, terminating in short tuft. Four pairs of mammae are present.

Habitat. Mature primary or secondary forests at elevations of 1200-2500 m. Habitat of Harris’s Rice Water Rat is characterized by lush evergreen forests where canopy height and continuity decrease with elevation and epiphyte and moss cover increase with elevation. Where an adult was caught in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica, forest had a tall, somewhat broken canopy (15-30 m), with heavy epiphyte and moss growth and multilayered understory of ferns, shrubs, herbs, young trees, and monocots.

Food and Feeding. Molars of Harris’s Rice Water Rat have unique occlusal pattern, with tendency to lophodonty and probably associated with some degree of herbivory.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Harris’s Rice Water Rat is terrestrial; all collected specimens were trapped on ground.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List (as Sigmodontomys aphrastus ).

Bibliography. Brito & Arguero (2016), Harris (1932), Hershkovitz (1944), Lee et al. (2010), McCain et al. (2007), McPherson (1985), Pine et al. (2012), Samudio et al. (2008), Voss (1988), Weksler (2015c¢).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

SubOrder

Myomorpha

SuperFamily

Muroidea

Family

Cricetidae

Genus

Tanyuromys

Loc

Tanyuromys aphrastus

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr 2017
2017
Loc

Oryzomys aphrastus

Harris 1932
1932
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