Giant tree-rat

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Giant tree-rat
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Superfamily: Octodontoidea
Family: Echimyidae
Subfamily: Echimyinae
Tribe: Echimyini
Genus: Toromys
Iack-Ximenes, De Vivo, & Percequillo, 2005
Species:
T. grandis
Binomial name
Toromys grandis
(Wagner, 1845)
Synonyms

Loncheres grandisWagner, 1845
Echimys grandis(Wagner, 1845)
Makalata grandis(Wagner, 1845)

The giant tree-rat (Toromys grandis) 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. [1]

This species was formerly considered to be a member of the genera Loncheres and Makalata . In 2005 it was reclassified as the only member of the new genus Toromys. [2]

The etymology of the genus name derives from the onomatopoeic Portuguese word toró , referring to the vocalizations of this rodent, and the ancient greek word μῦς (mûs), meaning "mouse, rat". [3] [4]

Phylogeny

Toromys is the sister genus to Pattonomys. These taxa are closely related to Echimys, Phyllomys, and Makalata, reflecting the fact that Toromys grandis and Pattonomys occasius have formerly been placed in Makalata by some authorities. [5] In turn, these five genera share phylogenetic affinities with a clade containing the bamboo rats Dactylomys, Olallamys, Kannabateomys together with Diplomys and Santamartamys. [6]

Genus-level cladogram of the Echimyini.
root  
         
         
         
         
         

  Echimys

  Phyllomys

  Makalata

         

  Pattonomys

  Toromys
  (Giant tree-rat)

  "Dactylomyines"  
         

  Dactylomys

  Olallamys

  Kannabateomys
  (Atlantic bamboo rat)

  Diplomys

  Santamartamys
  (Red-crested tree-rat)

  "Eumysopines"  

  Lonchothrix
  (Tuft-tailed spiny tree-rat)

  Mesomys

  Isothrix

The cladogram has been reconstructed from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA characters. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Isothrix</i> Genus of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic bamboo rat</span> Genus of South American spiny rats

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.

<i>Mesomys</i> Genus of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

Mesomys is a genus of South American spiny rats in the family Echimyidae.

<i>Echimys</i> Genus of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

Echimys is a genus of the spiny rats family, the Echimyidae. Members of this genus are collectively called spiny tree-rats.

<i>Dactylomys</i> Genus of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

Dactylomys is the genus of South American bamboo rats They are arboreal members of the family Echimyidae.

<i>Olallamys</i> Genus of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guiara</span> Genus of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

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:

<i>Diplomys</i> Genus of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

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.

<i>Plagiodontia</i> Genus of mammals belonging to the hutia subfamily of rodents

Plagiodontia is a genus of rodent in the subfamily Capromyinae (hutias). All known species are endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

Pattonomys is a genus of rodent in the family Echimyidae, named after American mammalogist James L. Patton. It contains the following species:

<i>Thrichomys</i> Genus of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

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:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echimyidae</span> Family of rodents

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 Greater Antilles in the Caribbean. Species of the extinct subfamily Heteropsomyinae formerly lived on Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico in the Antilles, probably until the arrival of Europeans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myocastorini</span> A tribe of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

Myocastorini is a tribe of echimyid rodents, proposed in 2017, and containing the five extant genera Callistomys, Hoplomys, Myocastor, Proechimys, and Thrichomys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euryzygomatomyinae</span> Subfamily of rodents

Euryzygomatinae is a subfamily of rodents, proposed in 2017, and containing three extant genera of spiny Echimyidae: Clyomys, Euryzygomatomys, and Trinomys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echimyini</span> A tribe of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echimyinae</span> A subfamily of mammals belonging to the spiny rat family of rodents

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).

References

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