Ctenomys mendocinus Philippi 1869

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Ctenomyidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 1560-1570 : 1566

Ctenomys mendocinus Philippi 1869

Ctenomys mendocinus Philippi 1869 , Arch. Naturgesch., 1: 38.

Type Locality: Argentina, Mendoza Prov., Mendoza.

Vernacular Names: Mendoza Tuco-tuco.

Distribution: Eastern slopes of the Andes from Santa Cruz north to Mendoza province ( Argentina).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Karyotype has 2n=47-48 and FN=75-76 ( Massarini et al., 1991 b). Cabrera (1961) synonymized bergi , fochi , haigi , juris , azarae , latro , pundti , occultus , and tucumanus under mendocinus . Roig and Reig (1969) considered azarae , latro , and tucumanus distinct from mendocinus based on the results of precipitin tests and Reig and Kiblisky (1969) recognized occultus , latro , and tucumanus as distinct based on strikingly different karyotypes. Several additional forms have been recognized as distinct species, including bergi (Giménez et al., 1999), haigi ( Pearson, 1984) , and pundti ( Reig et al., 1992) , based in part on karyotypic differentiation. Galliari et al. (1996) also recognized fochi and juris as species based in part on the lack of justification for their synonymy. A mendocinus group was designated by Massarini et al. (1991 a) composed of morphologically similar species: australis , azarae , mendocinus , and porteousi , which all share similar karyotypes. Topotypes of azarae , mendocinus and porteousi have G-band equivalence and these three taxa share a Robertsonian polymorphism, leading Massarini et al. (1998) to suggest that azarae and porteousi may be conspecific with mendocinus .