| Bolivian bamboo rat | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Echimyidae |
| Tribe: | Echimyini |
| Genus: | Dactylomys |
| Species: | D. boliviensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Dactylomys boliviensis | |
The Bolivian bamboo rat (Dactylomys boliviensis), is a species of spiny rat from South America. [3]
The Bolivian bamboo rat is one of the largest species of spiny rat, with an adult head-body length of about 30 cm (12 in) and a tail 41 cm (16 in) long. It is also unusual in having a hairless tail, soft (rather than spiny) fur, and only four visible toes on the fore-feet. [4]
Most of the body is covered in soft grizzled greyish hair, and marked with blackish streaks. A darker line runs down the centre of the back, while the underparts have only sparse, white fur. The long tail is hairless, except at the base, and covered with large, pentagonal scales. The fifth toe on the forefeet is vestigial, consisting only of a tiny claw located on a tubercle at the side of the foot. The third and fourth toes are widely separated, giving the rat a grasp that has been likened to that of primates. The head has a distinctive blunt nose, and long whiskers. [4] There is also a strong-smelling scent gland just above the sternum. [5]
Bolivian bamboo rats are found in central Bolivia, southeastern Peru, and extreme western Brazil. However, within this range, they are found only in specific habitats, inhabiting dense bamboo thickets below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) altitude, or along densely vegetated riverbanks. [4]
Bolivian bamboo rats feed on bamboo, stripping away the outer bark to gnaw at the stems. They are nocturnal, sleeping through the day in nests of tangled vines located in tree branches 10 to 25 m (33 to 82 ft) above the ground. Population densities can be high, and one individual studied had a home range of just 0.23 hectares (0.57 acres). The rats are agile climbers, and move through heavy vegetation almost silently. When disturbed, the freeze in place, or run swiftly up into trees. [6]
Moving only at night, and then slowly and in areas of dense vegetation, Bolivian bamboo rats can be difficult to observe. However, they do make distinctive calls, which may carry over long distances, and are apparently used to communicate with one another. These calls consist of a series of short, staccato grunts, and have compared to those of toads. The calls are often made while the rats are perched on branches, or after scent marking with their sternal glands. Other nearby individuals often respond with calls of their own. [6]
Chinchilla rats or chinchillones are members of the family Abrocomidae. This family has few members compared to most rodent families, with only nine known living species. They resemble chinchillas in appearance, with a similar soft fur and silvery-grey color, but have a body structure more like a short-tailed rat. They are social, tunnel-dwelling animals, and live in the Andes Mountains of South America. They are probably herbivorous, although this is not clear.
The Andean rat, or white-tailed akodont, is the only species in the genus Lenoxus. It is a rodent in the tribe Akodontini found on the eastern slopes of the Andes of eastern Peru and western Bolivia. Examination of its genome shows that this species is not closely related to Oxymycterus as had previously been thought, but is quite distinct, having diverged from the other Akodontini soon after the basal radiation of the entire group.
The toros or brush-tailed rats, genus Isothrix, are a group of spiny rats found in tropical South America, particularly in the Amazon Basin.
The Atlantic bamboo rat, or southern bamboo rat, is a spiny rat species from South America, found in humid tropical forests in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. It is the only member of the genus Kannabateomys.
The tuft-tailed spiny tree rat is a spiny rat species from South America. It is known from Brazil south of the Amazon River, where it has been found in grassland and gallery forest. It is the only species in the genus Lonchothrix. Very little is known about this rodent. It is small with an average adult weight of about 138 grams. It is nocturnal and solitary in habits.
The short-tailed spiny-rat, Proechimys brevicauda, or Huallaga spiny rat, is a spiny rat species from South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The long-tailed spiny rat, Proechimys longicaudatus, is a spiny rat species from South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.
Yonenaga's Atlantic spiny-rat or torch-tail spiny rat is a spiny rat species endemic to Brazil. Locally, it is known as rabo de facho. Named for Yatiyo Yonenaga-Yassuda, a cytogenetics researcher, it is considered an endangered species due to its highly restricted distribution and ongoing habitat loss. Genetic evidence shows that it diverged from its closest living relative, the hairy Atlantic spiny rat, around 8.5 million years ago, during the Late Miocene.
The Amazonian marsh rat, also known as the common marsh rat, or simply the marsh rat, is a rodent species from South America.
Phyllomys is a genus of arboreal spiny rat, geographically restricted to the forests of eastern Brazil.
Tome's spiny rat, also known as Tomes' spiny rat or the Central American spiny rat, is a species of spiny rat distributed from Honduras to Ecuador. The IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Dactylomys is the genus of South American bamboo rats They are arboreal members of the family Echimyidae.
Olallamys is a genus of Andean soft-furred spiny rat that range from Panama through Colombia and Venezuela to northern Ecuador. These species are typically found at elevations above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).
The montane bamboo rat or Peruvian bamboo rat, is a species of rodent in the family Echimyidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Makalata is a genus of rodents in the family Echimyidae.
Pattonomys is a genus of rodent in the family Echimyidae, named after American mammalogist James L. Patton. It contains the following species:
The long-tongued arboreal mouse is a South American rodent species of the family Cricetidae. It is found in a variety of habitats, including dense forest, in Bolivia and Peru at elevations from 450 to 2,100 metres on the eastern side of the Andes. The species is at least partly arboreal. It is distinguished from the Brazilian arboreal mouse, the only other known member of Rhagomys, by spiny fur and certain skull features such as the presence of beading in the interorbital region.
The Amazon bamboo rat is a species of spiny rat from the Amazon Basin of South America. It is also referred to as coro-coro, Toró, Rato-do-Bambú, or Rata del Bambú in different parts of its range. The bamboo rat prefers to reside in areas of dense vegetation, such as clumps of bamboo or in the canopy. It is an arboreal browser, consuming primarily leaves and spending much of its time off the ground. Because the Amazon bamboo rat spends most of its time in heavily forested areas, it is difficult to observe, and not much is known about its habits.
Echimyini is a tribe of echimyid rodents, proposed in 2016, and containing 13 extant genera: all of the tree rats Echimys, Phyllomys, Makalata, Pattonomys, Toromys, Diplomys, Santamartamys, and Isothrix, the long recognized dactylomines Dactylomys, Olallamys, and Kannabateomys, and the enigmatic and previously classified as eumysopines Lonchothrix and Mesomys. All these spiny rats genera are arboreal. Worth of note, the arboreal genus Callistomys – the painted-tree rat – does not belong to the tribe Echimyini. Because it is phylogenetically closer to Myocastor, Hoplomys, Proechimys, and Thrichomys than to the above-mentioned Echimyini genera, it is classified in the tribe Myocastorini.
