| Dactylomys | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Echimyidae |
| Subfamily: | Echimyinae |
| Tribe: | Echimyini |
| Genus: | Dactylomys I. Geoffroy, 1838 |
| Type species | |
| Dactylomys typus | |
| Species | |
Dactylomys boliviensis Contents | |
| Synonyms | |
Lachnomys Thomas, 1916 | |
Dactylomys is the genus of South American bamboo rats [1] They are arboreal members of the family Echimyidae.
The genus name Dactylomys derives from the two Ancient Greek words δάκτυλος (dáktulos), meaning "finger", and μῦς (mûs), meaning "mouse, rat", [2] [3] and refers to the middle two digits especially elongated relative to lateral ones as observed in these rodents. [4]
The genus contains three species:
Dactylomys is a member of the Echimyini clade of arboreal Echimyidae rodents. The closest relative of Dactylomys is Olallamys, and then Kannabateomys. These South American bamboo rats share unique features and are grouped under the informal clade name of "Dactylomyines". [5] The dactylomyines are the sister genera to Diplomys and Santamartamys. All these taxa are closely related to the genera Echimys, Phyllomys, Makalata, Pattonomys, and Toromys. In turn, these genera share phylogenetic affinities with the clade containing Lonchothrix and Mesomys, and with Isothrix. [6]
| Genus-level cladogram of the Echimyini. |
| The cladogram has been reconstructed from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA characters. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [6] |
The toros or brush-tailed rats, genus Isothrix, are a group of spiny rats found in tropical South America, particularly in the Amazon Basin.
Owl's spiny rat is a rodent species in the family Echimyidae found in Brazil. It is the only species in the genus Carterodon. Owl's spiny rat has evolved characteristics such as a heightened ability to dig in open grasslands during times of environmental change.
The giant tree-rat is a species in the family Echimyidae, the spiny rats. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Toromys. It is endemic to Brazil, where it occurs in the flooded forest along the banks of the Amazon River and its tributaries.
The Atlantic bamboo rat, or southern bamboo rat, is a spiny rat species 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 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.
Phyllomys is a genus of arboreal spiny rat, geographically restricted to the forests of eastern Brazil.
Mesomys is a genus of South American spiny rats in the family Echimyidae.
Echimys is a genus of the spiny rats family, the Echimyidae. Members of this genus are collectively called spiny tree-rats.
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).
Euryzygomatomys is a genus of South American rodents, commonly called guiaras, in the family Echimyidae. It contains two extant and one fossil species, found in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. They are as follows:
Diplomys is a genus of rodent in the family Echimyidae. They are found in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama.
Makalata is a genus of rodents in the family Echimyidae.
The prehensile-tailed hutia is a small, furry, rat-like mammal found only in forests on Cuba. It is the only member of the genus Mysateles. It climbs and lives in trees where it eats only leaves, and it is threatened by habitat loss. The prehensile-tailed hutia is a member of the hutia subfamily (Capromyinae), a group of rodents native to the Caribbean that are mostly endangered or extinct.
Pattonomys is a genus of rodent in the family Echimyidae, named after American mammalogist James L. Patton. It contains the following species:
Thrichomys is a genus of South American rodents in the family Echimyidae. It contains at least five species, found in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. They are as follows:
Echimyidae is the family of neotropical spiny rats and their fossil relatives. This is the most species-rich family of hystricognath rodents. It is probably also the most ecologically diverse, with members ranging from fully arboreal to terrestrial to fossorial to semiaquatic habits. They presently exist mainly in South America; three members of the family also range into Central America, and the hutias are found in the West Indies in the Caribbean. Species of the extinct subfamily Heteropsomyinae formerly lived on Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico in the Antilles.
Myocastorini is a tribe of echimyid rodents, proposed in 2017, and containing the five extant genera Callistomys, Hoplomys, Myocastor, Proechimys, and Thrichomys.
Euryzygomatinae is a subfamily of rodents, proposed in 2017, and containing three extant genera of spiny Echimyidae: Clyomys, Euryzygomatomys, and Trinomys.
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.
Echimyinae is a subfamily of rodents belonging to the spiny rats family Echimyidae. It contains 14 arboreal genera—all the members of the tribe Echimyini, plus Callistomys—a few terrestrial genera, and a subaquatic genus (Myocastor).