Coues's climbing mouse

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Coues's climbing mouse
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Sigmodontinae
Genus: Rhipidomys
Species:
R. couesi
Binomial name
Rhipidomys couesi
(J.A. Allen & Chapman, 1893)

Coues's climbing mouse (Rhipidomys couesi) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. [2] It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. [1] It is named in honour of the American zoologist Elliott Coues who studied birds and small mammals.

Contents

Description

This is a large climbing mouse growing to a head-and-body length of up to 210 mm (8.3 in). The fur is rather coarse and short. The upper parts vary in colour from yellowish brown to reddish brown, the individual hairs being banded, and having black or dark brown guard hairs mixed among them. The underparts are creamy-white or yellowish, the hairs sometimes having grey bases. The tail is the same length as the head-and-body or a little longer, with dark scales, reddish-brown or dark brown hairs and a long terminal tuft of hair. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Coues's climbing mouse is a native of northern South America. It occurs in an arc from Trinidad and the island of Margarita, through the coastal region of northern Venezuela, and a swathe of west-central Venezuela (the southeasterly side of the Merida Andes and the foothills of the Eastern Cordillera) to Meta Department in central Colombia. [1] This mouse is probably also present in the belt of humid forest connecting some of these areas. Further south than this, this mouse is replaced by the white-footed climbing mouse (Rhipidomys leucodactylus). [3] Its altitudinal range is from sea level up to about 1,500 m (5,000 ft). It is an arboreal, nocturnal species and its typical habitats are primary and secondary rainforest, lowland forest and the lower regions of montane forest. [1]

Related Research Articles

Sigmodontinae subfamily of rodents

The rodent subfamily Sigmodontinae includes New World rats and mice, with at least 376 species. Many authorities include the Neotominae and Tylomyinae as part of a larger definition of Sigmodontinae. When those genera are included, the species count numbers at least 508. Their distribution includes much of the New World, but the genera are predominantly South American, such as brucies. They invaded South America from Central America as part of the Great American Interchange near the end of the Miocene, about 5 million years ago. Sigmodontines proceeded to diversify explosively in the formerly isolated continent. They inhabit many of the same ecological niches that the Murinae occupy in the Old World.

<i>Oryzomys</i> Genus of semiaquatic rodents

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.

Neacomys spinosus, also known as the common neacomys, common bristly mouse, or bristly mouse, is a nocturnal rodent species from South America in the genus Neacomys. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, where it often lives in transition areas between lowland forest and open regions. Its diet consists of insects, seeds and fruit.

Gardner's climbing mouse is a rodent species from South America. It is found in western Brazil, southeastern Peru and northeastern Bolivia. It is an uncommon, arboreal species, but faces no particular threats so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being a "least-concern species".

White-footed climbing mouse Species of rodent

The white-footed climbing mouse is a species of South American rodent found in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. It is the type species of the genus and the type location was the lower eastern slopes of the Andes in central Peru.

<i>Rhipidomys</i> Genus of rodents

Rhipidomys is a genus of rodents in the family Cricetidae, The following 24 species of climbing mouse species are currently recognised:

The northern grass mouse, or northern akodont, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Colombian forest mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. Some authorities consider it to be the only species in the genus Chilomys, while others accept Chilomys fumeus as being a valid species, and it may form part of a species complex. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

The montane African climbing mouse or remarkable climbing mouse is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The Ethiopian forest brush-furred rat or golden-footed brush-furred rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Ethiopia where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Oligoryzomys destructor, also known as Tschudi's colilargo or the destructive pygmy rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus Oligoryzomys of family Cricetidae. It is found along the eastern Andes from southern Colombia, through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia into northern Argentina. Its karyotype has 2n = 60 and FNa = 76.

<i>Oryzomys dimidiatus</i> Rodent of the family Cricetidae found in southeastern Nicaragua

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 southern climbing mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia in forested valleys and on slopes on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains.

The buff-bellied climbing mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.

The Venezuelan climbing mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Colombia, Tobago, and Venezuela.

The golden Oldfield mouse or golden thomasomys is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Both the common and genus name commemorate the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas who worked at the Natural History Museum, London and studied South American rodents.

Red-tailed squirrel Species of rodent

The red-tailed squirrel is a species of tree squirrel distributed from southern Central America to northern South America.

Atlantic Forest climbing mouse Species of rodent

The Atlantic Forest climbing mouse is an arboreal rodent species in the family Cricetidae from South America. It is found in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil at elevations from sea level to 1500 m. Its karyotype is 2n = 44, FN = 74–80.

The cerrado climbing mouse or long-tailed rhipidomys is an arboreal rodent species in the family Cricetidae from South America. It is found in primary or secondary forests of the cerrado and caatinga in central and eastern Brazil, and has also been seen in the Atlantic Forest. Its karyotype is 2n = 44, FN = 48-52. They are nocturnal animals and can be found in both tree canopies and on the ground.

The Peruvian climbing mouse or lesser Peruvian rhipidomys, is a South American species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is endemic to the eastern slopes of the Andes in central Peru, where it is found at altitudes from 700 to 1,800 metres. The species is nocturnal and arboreal, and lives in lower montane forest and cloud forest. It is threatened by forest clearance for agriculture and coca cultivation but is listed as a "least-concern species" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Aguilera, M.; Ochoa, J. (2016). "Rhipidomys couesi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T19607A22373900. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T19607A22373900.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Musser, G.G.; Carleton, M.D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1168. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  3. 1 2 Patton, James L.; Pardiñas, Ulyses F.J.; D'Elía, Guillermo (2015). Mammals of South America, Volume 2: Rodents. University of Chicago Press. pp. 592–593. ISBN   978-0-226-16960-6.
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