Olallamys albicauda (Gunther, 1879)

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Echimyidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 552-604 : 587-588

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6623649

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6624368

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C5A071-FFCE-FFFD-FA76-52905EB1FAB0

treatment provided by

Carolina

scientific name

Olallamys albicauda
status

 

69. View Plate 35: Echimyidae

White-tailed Olalla Rat

Olallamys albicauda View in CoL

French: Rat-épineux a queue blanche / German: Olalla-Ratte / Spanish: Rata olalla de cola blanca

Other common names: Colombian Soft-furred Spiny-rat

Taxonomy. Thrinacodus albicauda Gunther, 1879 ,

“vicinity of Medellin, Colombian Confederation,” Antioquia, Colombia.

L. H. Emmons replaced Gunther’s Thrinacodus with Olallamys in 1988 after recognizing that Gunther’s genus group name was a homonym of an earlier described genus of cartilaginous fish. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

O. a. albicauda Gunther, 1879 — E Andes Range in C Colombia.

O. a. apolinariJ. A. Allen, 1914 — C Andes Range in Colombia. View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head—body 150-180 mm, tail 255-260 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The White-tailed Olalla Rat is arboreal, with soft fur and without spines or bristles, smaller than its congener the Greedy Olalla Rat ( O. edax ). Dorsal pelt is shaded with reddish and brownish hues; belly is pure yellowish and contrasts slightly with dorsum. Tail is ¢.160% of head-body length, sparsely furred, and longitudinally bicolored, with proximal end reddish brown and distally white. Compared with species of Dactylomys and the Atlantic Bamboo Rat ( Kannabateomys amblyonyx), forefeet and hindfeet have claws instead of nails, except for presence of asymmetrical nail on digit two of hindfeet. Compared with other dactylomyinae members, both species of Olallamys have smaller crania and distinct cheekteeth with well-separated lophs and lophids on molars, due to junction between flexus and flexid. Species of Olallamys share anteriorly convergent upper tooth rows with species of Dactylomys , and both genera are distinguished from the Atlantic Bamboo Rat by this feature.

Habitat. Bamboo patches in primary montane rainforest of the Central and Eastern Andes Range in Colombia at elevations of 2300-3300 m. The White-tailed Olalla Rat likely also occupies disturbed forests where bamboo thickets ( Chusquea sp. , Poaceae ) are abundant, based on its presence in scats of the Crab-eating Fox ( Cerdocyon thous, Canidae ).

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 specific information available for this species, but the White-tailed Olalla Rat is probably nocturnal.

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. Additional ecological studies of the White-tailed Olalla Rat—a rare mountain endemic—are needed.

Bibliography. Allen (1914a), Cabrera (1961), Delgado (2009), Delgado & Zurc (2005), Eisenberg (1989), Emmons (1988, 1990, 1997a, 2005), Gunther (1877a), Patton et al. (2015), Woods (1993), Woods & Kilpatrick (2005).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Echimyidae

Genus

Olallamys

Loc

Olallamys albicauda

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier 2016
2016
Loc

Thrinacodus albicauda

Gunther 1879
1879
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