Isothrix Temporal range: Pleistocene - Recent | |
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Isothrix bistriata | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Echimyidae |
Subfamily: | Echimyinae |
Tribe: | Echimyini |
Genus: | Isothrix Wagner, 1845 |
Type species | |
Isothrix bistriata | |
Species | |
I. barbarabrownae Contents | |
Synonyms | |
LasiuromysDeville, 1852 |
The toros or brush-tailed rats, genus Isothrix, are a group of spiny rats [1] found in tropical South America, particularly in the Amazon Basin. [2]
Toros look like large rats with soft fur on the body and long guard hairs on the scaly tail. [3] Head and body is 18-27.5 cm and tail is 17–30 cm. [2] Weight is 320-570 grams.
These animals appear to be arboreal, based on the shape of their hind feet. [2] They are thought to spend the day in holes in the ground near trees.
The etymology of the genus name Isothrix corresponds to the two ancient greek words ἴσος (ísos), meaning "of equal length", and θρίξ , τριχός (thríx, trikhós), meaning "hair". [4] [5] The etymology of the genus name synonym Lasiuromys corresponds to the three ancient greek words λάσιος (lásios), meaning "furry, with tufted hair", οὐρά (ourá), meaning "animal tail", and μῦς (mûs), meaning "mouse, rat". [4] [5]
There are currently five species recognized in the genus Isothrix: [6]
There does appear to be good support for the monophyly of three species found in this genus. [3]
Isothrix is a member of the Echimyini clade of arboreal Echimyidae rodents. [8] Although tentatively considered an echimyine, it has been suggested that Isothrix may not be particularly closely related to other members of its subfamily. [3] This is confirmed by molecular phylogenies in which Isothrix appears as a distant relative of the three clades of Echimyini: (i) Echimys, Phyllomys, Makalata, Pattonomys, and Toromys ; (ii) the bamboo rats Dactylomys, Olallamys, Kannabateomys together with Diplomys and Santamartamys ; and (iii) the arboreal eumysopines Mesomys and Lonchothrix. [9]
The taxon Callistomys pictus was previously member of the genus Isothrix, but most authors considered it distinct enough to warrant a separate genus. [10] This distinctness has been confirmed by DNA comparative studies in which Callistomys even appears to branch with members of a distinct tribe (i.e., Myocastorini) of the subfamily Echimyinae. [11] [8] [9] The arboreal genera of the subfamily Echimyinae therefore constitute a polyphyletic assemblage.
Genus-level cladogram of the Echimyini. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The cladogram has been reconstructed from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA characters. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [11] [17] [18] [8] [9] |
The painted tree-rat is a species of spiny rat from Brazil, restricted to north-eastern Bahia in eastern Brazil. It is the only species in the genus Callistomys.
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.
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).
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.
The red-crested tree-rat or Santa Marta toro is a species of tree-rat found in the monotypic genus Santamartamys in the family Echimyidae. It is nocturnal and is believed to feed on plant matter, and is mainly rufous, with young specimens having a grey coat. IUCN list the species as critically endangered: it is affected by feral cats, climate change, and the clearing of forest in its potential range in coastal Colombia.
The armored rat is a species of rodent in the family Echimyidae. It is monotypic within the genus Hoplomys. It is found in Latin America, from northern Honduras to northwest Ecuador. It possesses a range of spines on its back and sides of the body.
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. There is one subspecies, M. prehensilis gundlachi.
Pattonomys is a genus of rodent in the family Echimyidae, named after American mammalogist James L. Patton. It contains the following species:
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.
Myocastorini is a tribe of echimyid rodents, proposed in 2017, and containing the five extant genera Callistomys, Hoplomys, Myocastor, Proechimys, and Thrichomys.
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).