Phyllotis gerbillus, Thomas, 1900
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6707142 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6708704 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F06D13-FF5B-2092-086B-105F0FD0F6C5 |
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treatment provided by |
Carolina |
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scientific name |
Phyllotis gerbillus |
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727. View Plate 31: Cricetidae
Peruvian Leaf-eared Mouse
Phyllotis gerbillus View in CoL
French: Phyllotis gerbille / German: Peru-Blattohrmaus / Spanish: Raton orejudo de Pert
Other common names: Gerbil Leaf-eared Mouse
Taxonomy. Phyllotis gerbillus Thomas, 1900 View in CoL , “ Piura, N.W. Peru, alt. 50 m. ”
Type species of the genus Paralomys described by O. Thomas in 1926, now considered synonym of Phyllotys. Monotypic.
Distribution. Sechura Desert in NW Peru. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 77-96 mm, tail 62-90 mm, ear 14-17 mm, hindfoot 18-21 mm; weight 15-5 g. The Peruvian Leaf-eared Mouse is the smallest species of Phyllotis . Dorsal pelage of head and body is ocherous or salmon, finely peppered with dark brown. Upper one-half of sides of body are back but hair tips are not dark, and lower one-half is entirely white like underparts. Hairs of limbs, cheeks, and sides of rostrum are white. Ears are comparatively small; white preauricular spots are usually present. Hindfeet are broad and short, with six welldeveloped plantar pads on each. Tail is shorter than head-body length, thinly haired throughout, and overall white in color (occasionally with dark hair or patch of hairs), with terminal rudimentary pencil. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 38, FN = 72.
Habitat. Coastal, mounded loose sand dunes several meters high and 50% covered with low green shrubs, principally thick-leaved evergreens such as Capparis scabrida and C. avicenniifolia (both Capparaceae ) and the deciduous legume Prosopisjuliflora ( Fabaceae ).
Food and Feeding. The Peruvian Leaf-cared Mouse is probably granivorous;it spends the day underground and does not need to drink free water.
Breeding. Fight pregnant Peruvian Leaf-eared Mice had 1-4 embryos (average three).
Activity patterns. The Peruvian Leaf-eared Mouse is nocturnal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List.
Bibliography. Braun (1993), Cabrera (1961), Koford (1968), Musser & Carleton (2005), Pearson (1972), Steppan (1993), Steppan & Ramirez (2015), Zeballos & Vivar (2016e).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
