86.

Dark Armored Tree-rat

Makalata obscura

French: Makalata obscur / German: Dunkle Breitstachelratte / Spanish: Rata arboricola oscura

Other common names: Dusky Spiny Tree-rat

Taxonomy. Loncheres obscura Wagner, 1840,

“Brazilien.”

J. A. Wagner's original description and accompanying figures suggest that this taxon 1s a Makalata . It 1s unclear, however, if obscura is a valid species or a synonym of M. duidelphoides . Because the holotype has apparently been lost, L. H. Emmons, who in 2005 was the first to assign this taxon to Makalata as a member of her didelphoides species group, considered Wagner’s name a nomen dubium. Monotypic.

Distribution. Brazil, presumably E Amazonia (Para and Maranhao states?) but not precisely known.

Descriptive notes. There are no specific measurements available. Based on two specimens collected by J. B. von Spix, G. R. Waterhouse in 1848 described the Dark Armored Tree-rat as having robust body, short feet, brown dorsum flecked with yellow, yellowish venter, thick tail about same length as head-body length and covered with very short scattered hairs, and upper body, including shoulders and thighs, with mixture of spines and scattered coarse hairs. Yellowish venter appears to align the Dark Armored Tree-rat with the Red-nosed Armored Tree-rat ( M. didelphoides).

Habitat. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Dark Armored Tree-rat is probably an arboreal representative of lowland primary rainforest.

Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

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. Given the rarity and taxonomic uncertainty of the Dark Armored Tree-rat, it will not be possible to update this classification.

Bibliography. Eisenberg & Redford (1999), Emmons (1990, 1997a, 2005), Patton et al. (2015), Tate (1935), Wagner (1840), Waterhouse (1848), Woods (1993), Woods & Kilpatrick (2005).