Oligoryzomys longicaudatus (Bennett 1832)

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 : 1142

Oligoryzomys longicaudatus (Bennett 1832)

[Oligoryzomys] longicaudatus (Bennett 1832) , Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1832: 2.

Type Locality: Chile, Valparaíso Prov. (as suggested by Osgood, 1943:143).

Vernacular Names: Long-tailed Colilargo.

Synonyms: Oligoryzomys agilis ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys amblyrrhynchus ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys araucanus ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys commutatus ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys coppingeri ( Thomas 1881) ; Oligoryzomys diminutivus ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys dumetorum ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys exiguus ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys glaphyrus ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys macrocercus ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys malaenus ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys melanizon ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys mizurus (Thomas 1916) ; Oligoryzomys nigribarbis ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys pampanus ( Massoia 1973) ; Oligoryzomys pernix ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys peteroanus ( Philippi 1900) ; Oligoryzomys philippii (Landbeck 1858) ; Oligoryzomys saltator ( Philippi 1900) .

Distribution: N Chile and NW Argentina, southwards along Andes to approximately to 50°S latitude; extralimital in EC Argentina (Buenos Aires Prov.); range limits uncertain.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Formerly encompassed most Andean populations of Oligoryzomys (see Cabrera, 1961), including destructor and magellanicus (see those specific accounts). Morphometric variation among Chilean populations investigated by Gallardo and Palma (1990), who placed philippii in full synonymy with O. longicaudatus and removed magellanicus to specific status. Populations of O. longicaudatus ( OMNH 2412, 2423, 2445, 2471) and O. destructor (see Distribution in that account) apparently approach one another in Tucumán Prov., NW Argentina. That in Buenos Aires Prov., EC Argentina, described as longicaudatus pampanus by Massoia (1973), is extralimital to the principally Andean distribution of the species as currently understood, but other isolated occurrences have been reported from intermediate provinces (La Pampa and Río Negro — De Santis et al., 2001). Relationships, validity of included synonyms, and level of divergence from allopatric forms like O. destructor and O. nigripes warrant intensive study (see commentary in Carleton and Musser [1989], Mares et al. [1997], and Pardiñas et al. [2003 b]). Attribution of numerous Philippi (1900) epithets follows Osgood (1943).