Oryzomys couesi, also known as Coues's rice rat, is a semiaquatic rodent in the family Cricetidae occurring from southernmost Texas through Mexico and Central America into northwestern Colombia. It is usually found in wet habitats, such as marshes, but also lives in drier forests and shrublands. Weighing about 43 to 82 g, O. couesi is a medium-sized to large rat. The coarse fur is buff to reddish above and white to buff below. The hindfeet show some specializations for life in the water, such as reduced ungual tufts of hair around the digits. It has 56 chromosomes. There is much geographic variation in size, proportions, color, and skull features. Oryzomys couesi is active during the night and builds nests of vegetation that are suspended among reeds about 1 m (3.3 ft) above the ground. It is an excellent swimmer and dives well, but can also climb in vegetation. An omnivore, it eats both plant and animal food, including seeds and insects. It breeds throughout the year; females give birth to about four young after a pregnancy of 21 to 28 days. The species may be infected by several different parasites and by two hantaviruses.
Oryzomys is a genus of semiaquatic rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini living in southern North America and far northern South America. It includes eight species, two of which—the marsh rice rat (O. palustris) of the United States and O. couesi of Mexico and Central America—are widespread; the six others have more restricted distributions. The species have had eventful taxonomic histories, and most species were at one time included in the marsh rice rat; additional species may be recognized in the future. The name Oryzomys was established in 1857 by Spencer Fullerton Baird for the marsh rice rat and was soon applied to over a hundred species of American rodents. Subsequently, the genus gradually became more narrowly defined until its current contents were established in 2006, when ten new genera were established for species previously placed in Oryzomys.
Bunomys is a genus of rodent from Sulawesi and Buton Island.
Oecomys concolor, also known as the unicolored oecomys, unicolored rice rat, or unicolored arboreal rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus Oecomys of family Cricetidae. It is found in tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome, but its range is poorly documented; it has been recorded in northwestern Brazil, southeastern Colombia, and southern Venezuela.
The mamore arboreal rice rat,, also known as the Mamore oecomys is an arboreal species of rodent in the genus Oecomys of family Cricetidae. Its distribution extends over much of Bolivia and into nearby Brazil and Paraguay. Although Oecomys has been recorded from Argentina, it is uncertain whether those records represent O. mamorae. It is found in a variety of habitats at elevations from 200 to 2100 m, where it feeds on fruit and green seeds.
The transitional colilargo also known as the intermediate lesser grass mouse, is a species of rodent in the tribe Oryzomyini known only from two individuals found in the Federal District in Brazil. Although described as a link between oryzomyine and akodontine rodents and placed in its own genus, Microakodontomys, Weksler and coworkers dismissed it as an aberrant Oligoryzomys.
Microryzomys is a genus of rodent in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. It is closely related to Oreoryzomys, Oligoryzomys, and Neacomys. It contains two species, both restricted to the Andes: M. altissimus and M. minutus.
Oryzomys dimidiatus, also known as the Nicaraguan oryzomys, Thomas's rice rat, or the Nicaraguan rice rat, is a rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is known from only three specimens, all collected in southeastern Nicaragua since 1904. Placed in Nectomys upon its discovery, it was later classified in its own subgenus of Oryzomys and finally recognized as closely related to other species now placed in Oryzomys, including the marsh rice rat and Coues' rice rat, which occurs in the same region.
The marsh rice rat is a semiaquatic North American rodent in the family Cricetidae. It usually occurs in wetland habitats, such as swamps and salt marshes. It is found mostly in the eastern and southern United States, from New Jersey and Kansas south to Florida and northeasternmost Tamaulipas, Mexico; its range previously extended further west and north, where it may have been a commensal in corn-cultivating communities. Weighing about 40 to 80 g, the marsh rice rat is a medium-sized rodent that resembles the common black and brown rat. The upperparts are generally gray-brown, but are reddish in many Florida populations. The feet show several specializations for life in the water. The skull is large and flattened, and is short at the front.
Handleyomys rostratus, also known as the long-nosed oryzomys, long-nosed rice rat, or rusty rice rat is a species of rodent in the genus Handleyomys of family Cricetidae. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. It is nocturnal and is found in forests at elevations above sea level to 1200 meters. The Handleyomys rostratus attains its highest level of development in south and Central America. High rates of deforestation and habitat destruction are the biggest threat to the Handleyomys rostratus.
Sigmodontomys alfari, also known as the short-tailed sigmodontomys, Alfaro's rice water rat, Cana rice rat, or Allen's rice rat, is a species of rodent in the subfamily Sigmodontinae of family Cricetidae. It is found from Honduras through Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama into South America, where it occurs from Venezuela through Colombia to Ecuador.
Sigmodontomys is a genus of rodent in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. It is related to Nectomys and Melanomys and used to be included in Nectomys. It includes two species, Sigmodontomys alfari and the much rarer Sigmodontomys aphrastus, but whether these are indeed each other's closest relatives is uncertain.
Nephelomys moerex is a species of rodent in the genus Nephelomys of family Cricetidae. The type locality is at Mindo in western Ecuador, where it has been recorded together with three other rodents of the oryzomyine group, Sigmodontomys aphrastus, Mindomys hammondi, and Handleyomys alfaroi, as well as three opossums, Chironectes minimus and unidentified species of Didelphis and Marmosa. Mindo is a "tiny agricultural community" located at 0°02'S, 78°48'W and 1,264 metres (4,150 ft) above sea level. It was originally described by Oldfield Thomas as a subspecies of Oryzomys albigularis. It remained synonymized under this species until it was recognized as a separate species when the genus Nephelomys was established for Oryzomys albigularis and related species in 2006.
Oryzomys peninsulae, also known as the Lower California rice rat, is a species of rodent from western Mexico. Restricted to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, it is a member of the genus Oryzomys of family Cricetidae. Only about twenty individuals, collected around 1900, are known, and subsequent destruction of its riverine habitat may have driven the species to extinction.
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 rodent anatomy, the zygomatic plate is a bony plate derived from the flattened front part of the zygomatic arch (cheekbone). At the back, it connects to the front (maxillary) root of the zygomatic arch, and at the top it is connected to the rest of the skull via the antorbital bridge. It is part of the maxillary bone, or upper jaw, which also contains the upper cheekteeth. Primitively, rodents have a nearly horizontal zygomatic plate. In association with specializations in zygomasseteric system, several distinct morphologies have developed across the order.
Guy Graham Musser was an American zoologist. His main research was in the field of the rodent subfamily Murinae, in which he has described many new species.
Rodents of the superfamily Muroidea, which includes mice, rats, voles, hamsters, bamboo rats, and many other species, generally have three molars in each quadrant of the jaws. A few of the oldest species retain the fourth upper premolar, and some living species have lost the third and even the second molars. Features of the molar crown are often used in muroid taxonomy, and many different systems have been proposed to name these features.
The Central Highlands, Central High Plateau, or Hauts-Plateaux are a mountainous biogeographical region in central Madagascar. They include the contiguous part of the island's interior above 800 m (2,600 ft) altitude. The Central Highlands are separated from the Northern Highlands of the northern tip of Madagascar by a low-lying valley, the Mandritsara Window, which has apparently acted as a barrier to dispersal for species in the highlands, leading to species pairs such as Voalavo gymnocaudus and Voalavo antsahabensis in the Northern and Central Highlands. Species restricted to the Central Highlands include the bats Miniopterus manavi and Miniopterus sororculus; the rodents Brachyuromys betsileoensis and Voalavo antsahabensis; the tenrecs Hemicentetes nigriceps and Oryzorictes tetradactylus; and the lemur Cheirogaleus sibreei. Because of the continuous habitat of the Central Highlands, there is little local endemism, unlike the Northern Highlands.
