Oxymycterus rufus (G. Fischer 1814)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Cricetidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 955-1189 : 1159

Oxymycterus rufus (G. Fischer 1814)

[Mus] rufus G. Fischer 1814 , Zoognosia, Vol. 3: 71.

Type Locality: Argentina, Entre Ríos Prov., 32.5°S latitude along lower Río Paraná (as restricted by Hershkovitz, 1994:36, but see comments).

Vernacular Names: Rufous Hocicudo.

Synonyms: Oxymycterus platensis Thomas 1914 ; Oxymycterus rutilans ( Olfers 1818) .

Distribution: EC Argentina.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Priority of Mus rufus Fischer, 1814 , over Mus rutilans Olfers, 1818 , both based on Azara's (1801) descriptions, deserves formal stabilization as does clarification of the morphological identity of the species with Azara’s "Rat cinquieme ou rat roux." Similarly, decisive fixation of the type locality is required. Cabrera (1961) cited Rengger (1830) for the placement of the type locality near Asunción, Paraguay, but Rengger’s basis for this interpretation is unclear since Azara (1802) mentioned collecting the species in an arroyo at 32.5 degrees, presumably S latitude. Hershkovitz (1994), perhaps following Musser and Carleton’s observations (1993:727), restricted the type locality as given above; Galliari et al. (1996) instead noted that the type locality should be restricted to the vicinity of San Ignacio Guazú, Paraguay. Vitullo et al. (1986) supported the union of O. rufus and platensis as one species based on their chromosomal similarity, a synonymy that warrants reassessment given the karyotypic monomorphism that apparently characterizes the genus ( Bonvicino et al., 1998 b). Vicariant sister species of O. josei in Uruguay according to phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome b data ( Hoffmann et al., 2002).