Cuscomys ashaninka, Emmons, 1999
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6581970 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6581964 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/123187A5-FFFC-FFA5-FFA5-FE7CFCD23B15 |
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treatment provided by |
Carolina |
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scientific name |
Cuscomys ashaninka |
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Ashaninka Inca Rat
Cuscomys ashaninka View in CoL
French: Abrocome ashaninka / German: Ashaninka-Inkaratte / Spanish: Rata inca de los Ashaninka
Other common names: Ashaninka Arboreal Chinchilla Rat, Ashaninka Giant Tree Rat, Ashaninka Tree Rat
Taxonomy. Cuscomys ashaninka Emmons, 1999 View in CoL ,
“ Peru: Departamento de Cusco, northern Cordillera de Vilcabamba , 11°39'36”S; 73°40 '02"W (by GPS, map datum WGS-84); elevation 3370 m.” Corrected by H. L. Quintana in 2011 to Junin Department. GoogleMaps
Cuscomys ashaninka is known only from the type locality, which was originally erroneously believed to be in Cusco Department. Monotypic.
Distribution. Peru (Junin), in the headwaters of the Rio Pomureni, W of the crest of the Rio Apurimac—Rio Ene divide. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 346 mm, tail 263 mm, ear 37 mm, hindfoot 65 mm with claws and 59 mm without claws; weight 910 g (an early pregnant female). The Ashaninka Inca Ratis the largest species of Abrocomidae ;it is rotund, with short legs and a long tail. Upper parts are pale gray, with striking white markings; head has a white blaze from crown to nose, continuous with a white nose, muzzle, lips, and chin. Hair of crown is long, forming a longer, dark-bordered crest between ears. Fur is dense and long, with long black guard hairs and dense underfur. Under parts are lightly frosted gray, not contrasting with sides. Tail is robust, the longest in the family; proximal onehalf is dark blackish brown, and distal one-half is dirty white, completely haired but with scales partially visible. Feet of the Ashaninka Inca Rat have strongly curved claws; forefeet and hindfeet are blackish for proximal one-half above and below; distal parts are pure white. Forefeet have four toes, with no external pollex. Soles of feet are covered with tiny tubercles and without well-defined pads. Ears are pinkish gray, darker at tips, rounded, and nearly naked; whiskers are long, dense, stiff, white, reach to behind shoulder when flattened. Skull is flat in dorsal outline, with auditory tympanic bullae large, although small for species of Abrocomidae . Greatest length of skull of the single specimen is 66-9 mm. Rostrum is long, wide, and parallel-sided; nasal bones meet posteriorly, with no intercalation of the frontal bones. Interorbital region is broad and without constriction. Foramen magnum is much wider than high. Teeth are as in other species of Abrocomidae , with nearly parallel tooth rows. Small intestine from stomach to cecum measures 240 cm, cecum 25 cm, and colon from cecum to anus 143 cm.
Habitat. The only known Ashaninka Inca Rat was found at an elevation of 3370 m on the steep slope of a rocky hillock in tall wet, mossy, elfin cloud forest dominated by Weinmannia fagaroides/ microphylla ( Cunoniaceae ) and Polylepis sericea ( Rosaceae ) and with abundant bamboo ( Chusquea spp. , Poaceae ); a predator had just killed it. Ground had moss-covered limestone boulders, entwined with thick roots and trunks of trees. Flat areas surrounding the hill included open sphagnum bogs on rock terraces.
Food and Feeding. The Ashaninka Inca Rat is probably herbivorous; stomach of the holotype was packed with finely triturated green-plant material, including fruit with lignin granules and unidentified plant tissue. Length of intestine suggests an herbivorous diet. Strong claws and broad feet without pads of the Ashaninka Inca Rats suggest that it climbstrees to feed.
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Breeding. Primaparous holotype of the Ashaninka Inca Rat, collected 15 June 1997, had a single 8x 5mm embryo. Only one pair of inguinal mammae was located, consistent with small litter size.
Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. The only specimen of the Ashaninka Inca Rat was collected on a massive, isolated ridge of the Andean chain, part of which is protected within Otishi (Cutivireni) National Park and with Ashaninka Communal Reserve protecting slopes below. Because the area is almost untouched by humans, the Ashaninka Inca Rat is unlikely to be threatened.
Bibliography. Emmons (1999), Emmons et al. (2001), Quintana (2011).
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.
