Abrothrix longipilis | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Sigmodontinae |
Genus: | Abrothrix |
Species: | A. longipilis |
Binomial name | |
Abrothrix longipilis (Waterhouse, 1837) | |
Synonyms | |
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Abrothrix longipilis, also known as the long-haired grass mouse [1] or long-haired akodont, [2] is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is endemic to central Argentina and Chile. [3] Until 2014 it was thought that the species extended into southern Chile and Argentine Patagonia but these populations are now proposed to belong to closely related species named Abrothrix hirta . [3]
The southern Chilean Abrothrix sanborni may not be distinct from this species. [4]
The long-haired grass mouse is a large, robust grass mouse, with a head-and-body length of about 130 mm (5 in). It varies in colour across its wide range, but in most populations the dorsal hair is reddish-brown with long guard hairs, the flanks are more greyish and the underparts are grey. The tail is bicoloured, dark above and pale below. [5]
The species is found in central and southern Chile, and in Argentina as far southward as the Rio Negro and Chubut provinces of Patagonia. Its chief habitat is the Nothofagus forests of the region but it is also found in rocky areas, marshy areas, tussock grass and steppe with shrubs. [5]
The long-haired grass mouse is active both in the day and the night. It is an efficient excavator and digs burrows, but it is also a good tree climber. In Argentina it feeds on berries, seeds, insects, slugs, worms, fungi and fern spores. The diet differs in different parts of Chile, either consisting of insects and plant material, or insects and fungi, just insects or just fungi. [5] Breeding takes place in the spring and summer. The litter size averages just below four and at least some individuals overwinter twice. Home ranges in the Patagonian Nothofagus forest vary between 0.4 and 4.8 individuals per hectare in spring, and 2.8 to 10.8 individuals per hectare in autumn. This grass mouse is preyed on by the barn owl, the lesser horned owl, the rufous-legged owl, the white-tailed kite and the South American gray fox. It is also an important reservoir species for the Andes virus, which is a major causative agent of the disease Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. [5]
A. longipilis has a wide range and is presumed to have a large total population. The population trend may be downward but it is an abundant species and the decline is not at a rate to cause concern, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern". [1]
Akodon is a genus consisting of South American grass mice. They mostly occur south of the Amazon Basin and along the Andes north to Venezuela, but are absent from much of the basin itself, the far south of the continent, and the lowlands west of the Andes. Akodon is one of the most species-rich genera of Neotropical rodents. Species of Akodon are known to inhabit a variety of habitats from tropical and tropical moist forests to altiplano and desert. Fossils are known from the late Pliocene onwards.
The cursor grass mouse or cursorial akodont, is a sigmodontine rodent from South America.
Akodon boliviensis, also known as the Bolivian grass mouse or Bolivian akodont, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in the Andes from southeastern Peru through Bolivia into northwestern Argentina.
Abrothrix illuteus, also known as the gray akodont, gray grass mouse, or gray soft-haired mouse, is a species of small rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found only in northwestern Argentina.
Abrothrix lanosus, also known as the woolly grass mouse or woolly akodont, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in southern Argentina and Chile. It was previously classified in the genus Akodon rather than Abrothrix.
Abrothrix olivacea, also known as the olive grass mouse or olive akodont, is a species of rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found from northern Chile into southern Chile and Argentina, including the islands of Tierra del Fuego. It is prone to large swings in population size.
Abrothrix sanborni, also known as Sanborn's grass mouse or Sanborn's akodont, is a species of rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found in southern Argentina and Chile, but may not be distinct from A. longipilis.
Akodon spegazzinii, also known as Spegazzini's akodont or Spegazzini's grass mouse, is a rodent in the genus Akodon found in northwestern Argentina. It occurs in grassland and forest at 400 to 3,500 m above sea level. After the species was first named in 1897, several other names were given to various populations now included in A. spegazzinii. They are now all recognized as part of a single, widespread and variable species. Akodon spegazzinii is related to Akodon boliviensis and other members of the A. boliviensis species group. It reproduces year-round. Because it is widely distributed and common, Akodon spegazzinii is listed as "least concern" on the IUCN Red List.
The southern big-eared mouse, also known as the southern pericote, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile, and is one of only two species in its genus. The type specimen was captured by Charles Darwin in 1834 along the Santa Cruz River in Argentina, during the voyage of HMS Beagle, and was subsequently described by George Robert Waterhouse.
Chelemys macronyx, also known as the Andean long-clawed mouse or Andean long-clawed akodont, is a species of rodent in the genus Chelemys of family Cricetidae. It is native to Argentina and Chile, where it is found in Patagonian Nothofagus forest and adjacent grasslands.
Abrothrix andina, also known as the Andean Altiplano mouse or Andean akodont, is a species of rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found in the Altiplano habitat of the Andes from central Peru through Bolivia, south to Argentina and Chile.
Abrothrix is a genus of rodent in the tribe Abrotrichini of family Cricetidae. It contains the following living species:
Abrothrix jelskii, also known as Jelski's Altiplano mouse, Jelski's grass mouse, or the ornate akodont, is a species of rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found in the altiplano habitat of the Andes from central Peru through Bolivia into northwestern Argentina. Populations classified under A. jelskii include more than one species.
Irenomys tarsalis, also known as the Chilean climbing mouse, Chilean tree mouse, or long-footed irenomys, is a rodent found in Chile, from about 36° to 46°S, and in adjacent Argentina, mainly in forests. It is a large, long-tailed, soft-furred mouse characterized by grooved upper incisors and specialized molars with transverse ridges, divided by deep valleys, which are connected by a transverse ridge along the midline of the molars.
Oligoryzomys longicaudatus, also known as the long-tailed colilargo or long-tailed pygmy rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus Oligoryzomys of the family Cricetidae. It is found in the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina, with an outlying population in eastern Argentina. As a common species with a wide range and a stable population, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated this rodent as being of "least concern".
Oligoryzomys magellanicus, also known as the Patagonian colilargo and the Magellanic pygmy rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus Oligoryzomys of the family Cricetidae. It is found in the southernmost parts of Argentina and Chile, including Tierra del Fuego and other outlying islands. Its karyotype has 2n = 54 and FNa = 66.
Geoxus annectens, also known as Pearson's long-clawed akodont or Pearson's long-clawed mouse, is a species of rodent in the tribe Abrotrichini of family Cricetidae. Molecular data suggests that its closest relative is Geoxus valdivianus. Formerly classified in its own genus, Pearsonomys, named after American zoologist Oliver Payne Pearson, it was moved to Geoxus in 2016 after a morphological and genetic reevaluation of the tribe Abrotrichini. This rodent is endemic to Chile, where it is found in Nothofagus forest of the Valdivian temperate rainforest ecoregion.
Abrotrichini, also known as the Andean clade or southern Andean clade, is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae. It includes about fifteen species in four genera, distributed in South America from southern Peru to southernmost South America, including the Patagonian steppes. The earliest known fossils are from the Pliocene of Argentina.
In mammals, ungual tufts are tufts of hairs at the base of claws of the forefeet and hindfeet. Their presence has been used as a character in cladistic studies of the Cricetidae, a large family of rodents.
Abrothrix hirta is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is endemic to Argentina and Chile. The type locality of the species is Fuerte San Rafael in Argentina. The species is thought to have acquired its current geographical extent in post-glacial times when it colonized much of Patagonia from multiple refugia.