Red-crested tree-rat

Last updated

Red-crested tree-rat
Santamartamys, David Valle Martinez.jpg
Illustration of Santamartamys rufodorsalis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Echimyidae
Subfamily: Echimyinae
Tribe: Echimyini
Genus: Santamartamys
Emmons, 2005
Species:
S. rufodorsalis
Binomial name
Santamartamys rufodorsalis
(J. A. Allen, 1899)
Santamartamys rufodorsalis distribution.png
Synonyms
  • Diplomys rufodorsalis
  • Isothrix rufodorsalis

The red-crested tree-rat or Santa Marta toro (Santamartamys rufodorsalis) 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.

Contents

It is known only from three specimens, a specimen collected in 1898 in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and identified by Herbert Huntingdon Smith, a specimen identified by the American ornithologist and entomologist Melbourne Armstrong Carriker in 1913 at the same location, and a further specimen observed in the same location in 2011. Found at altitudes of 700 to 2,000 meters, the species is endemic to Colombia in an isolated area with high levels of biodiversity. The species was initially identified as Isothrix rufodorsalis in 1899, re-classified as Diplomys rufodorsalis in 1935, and the monotypic genus Santamartamys was created in 2005 for the species.

Discovery

On 24 December 1898, Herbert Huntingdon Smith identified the first specimen of Santamartamys in Ocana, Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia. [2] The specimen was of undetermined gender, and as all specimens of Smith's collections were collected by local hunters, there is no specific information regarding the location where the specimen was discovered. [2] A second specimen, also of undetermined gender, was discovered in around 1913 in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta by Carriker, but there is not much information regarding its location either, or the date of discovery. [2] It is assumed that the specimen was obtained through a gift or was purchased. It was recorded as a Santamartamys specimen in 1913 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Despite several organized searches, no other specimens were discovered. [3]

However, on 4 May 2011, two volunteers from Fundación ProAves photographed one individual at 1,958 m (6,424 ft) above sea level in El Dorado ProAves Reserve ( 11°06′02.93″N74°04′19.36″W / 11.1008139°N 74.0720444°W / 11.1008139; -74.0720444 ) that was subsequently identified by Paul Salaman. [4] [5]

Description

Santamartamys specimens measure between 51 cm (20 in) from head to the tip of their tail, with their tails measuring between 18 and 28 cm (7.1 and 11.0 in). [6] The species can weigh up to 500 g (18 oz), [7] and has a woolly, soft, and long coat. The species is mainly rufous. [8] The hair on the dorsal region is of intense red coloring, and a large portion of the tail hair is black (basal), but the last two-fifths of the tail are white. [9] Its ears are small and light brown, and feature tufts of long hair on the inner surface, but lack hair on the outer surface. Between the eye and the ear, there is a tuft of long black hairs. [9] The thin whiskers can reach up to 13 cm (5 in) long, and has a strip of red fur around its neck. [8]

The upper surfaces of the front and rear legs are covered in a pale gray coat, and the hind legs are very short and wide. [9] The feet lack small tubercles and the thumb is covered by a nail. [8] Its skull is short and wide, and it has a heavy, large, and uncurved zygomatic bone. [9] The supraorbital ridge of the skull is large, and the interorbital region is very broad with nearly parallel sides. [9] The facial portion of the skull is very short, and the distance between the incisors and the molars is slightly less than the length of the coronary surface of its upper row of teeth. [9] Santamartamys has large eyes, which is consistent with its nocturnal behavior. [2] It has two pairs of udders on the lateral edge of the abdominal side coat. [8]

Young specimens of Santamartamys have a grey coat. [2] During the transition to the adult intense red coat, molting begins at the anterior region and moves backward. [2]

Behavior, distribution and habitat

Santamartamys is a nocturnal rodent, [5] and its diet is unknown, but it is assumed to feed on plant matter such as fruits or seeds, like similar species in family Echimyidae. [10] It is able to easily climb a vertical wooden surface. The specimen observed in 2011 made no sounds. [2] It is endemic to Colombia, and has only been found in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta at altitudes of 700 to 2,000 m (2,300 to 6,600 ft). [6] Due to the location's isolation and specific geological and climatic conditions, this mountainous region has high levels of biodiversity and endemism. [2] It is believed that the habitat of Santamartamys is suffering degradation. [1]

Classification

Joel Asaph Allen first described the species as Isothrix rufodorsalis in 1899. Joel Asaph Allen 1838-1921.png
Joel Asaph Allen first described the species as Isothrix rufodorsalis in 1899.

Known as the "red-crested tree rat", [1] this species was originally described as Isothrix rufodorsalis by American biologist Joel Asaph Allen in 1899, [11] and was transferred to genus Diplomys in 1935 by George Henry Hamilton Tate. In 2005, its subfamily Echimyinae was revised by Louise Emmons from the Smithsonian Institution, and identified a number of unique features of this species, including the differences between the teeth of this species and others in genus Diplomys. [2] This resulted in the establishment of monotypic genus Santamartamys. [2]

The genus name Santamartamys comes from "Santa Marta", part of the name of the location where the specimens were found, and mys, meaning "mouse". [8] Rufodorsalis comes from Latin, with rufus and dorsalis meaning "red" and "back", respectively, referring to the color of this rodent. [8]

Phylogeny

Santamartamys is a member of the Echimyini clade of arboreal Echimyidae rodents. The closest relative of Santamartamys is Diplomys, reflecting the fact that these taxa have once been classified in the same genus. [11] These two genera constitute the sister group of the "Dactylomyines", a clade of South American bamboo rats. [12] 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. [13]

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. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [13]

Threats and protection

Santamartamys was rediscovered on 4 May 2011 in El Dorado ProAves Reserve, a protected area of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. [2] [22] Set up on 31 March 2006, this reserve covers 1,024 ha (2,530 acres) at an altitude between 950 and 2,600 m (3,120 and 8,530 ft), and contains a large number of endemic or endangered species. [23]

In 1990, Emmons believed that Santamartamys was one of the rarest Neotropical mammals. [6] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) described the species as "Vulnerable" in 1996. [1] In 2008, IUCN re-classified it as "Data deficient", [1] given the lack of information regarding the distribution, ecology and habitat of this rodent. [2] Following a reassessment in 2011, the species was listed as "Critically endangered", with much of the forest in the potential range of the species having been cleared or degraded. [1] Much of its potential area is infested with feral cats (who feed on fauna), [3] [7] and climate change is a long-term threat to the species. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

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

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.

<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.

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.

<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).

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prehensile-tailed hutia</span> Species of rodent

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.

<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:

<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 West Indies in the Caribbean. Species of the extinct subfamily Heteropsomyinae formerly lived on Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico in the Antilles.

<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">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

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lacher, T.; Roach, N. (2017). "Santamartamys rufodorsalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T6664A22210948. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T6664A22210948.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Noble, Elizabeth; McKeown, Simon; Sechrest, Wes (31 October 2011). "Rediscovery of Santamartamys rufodorsalis (Rodent: Echimyidae)". Conservación Colombiana (15): 40–43. ISSN   1900-1592.
  3. 1 2 "Spectacular mammal rediscovered after 113 years!". IUCN. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Presumed Extinct, The Red-Crested Tree Rat Returns". NPR. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Espectacular mamífero redescubierto después de 113 años en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta" (in Spanish). ProAves Colombia. 19 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-08-23. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Nowak, Ronald M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World. Vol. 1. JHU Press. p. 1696. ISBN   9780801857898.
  7. 1 2 "Rediscovered in Santa Marta - rodent that has not been seen since 1898" (in Spanish). Semana. 18 May 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Emmons, Louise Hickock (2005). "A revision of the genera of arboreal Echimyidae (Rodentia: Echimyidae, Echimyinae), with descriptions of two new genera". Mammalian Diversification: From Chromosomes to phylogeography (A Celebration of the Career of James L. Patton). Vol. 133. University of California Press. pp. 247–310. ISBN   9780520098534.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Allen, Joel Asaph (1899). New Rodents from Colombia and Venezuela (PDF). Vol. 12. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.
  10. ↑ BSi (2012), Santamartamys (Allen, 1899) (in Spanish), Sistema de información sobre biodiversidad in Colombia, archived from the original on January 1, 2013, retrieved 28 November 2014
  11. 1 2 Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Species Diplomys rufodorsalis". 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. 1577. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  12. ↑ Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Patton, James L.; Leite, Yuri L. R. (2016). "Family Echimyidae (hutias, South American spiny-rats and coypu)". In Wilson, Don E.; Lacher, Thomas E. Jr; Mittermeier, Russell A. (eds.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol 6. Lagomorphs and Rodents I. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 552–641. ISBN   978-84-941892-3-4.
  13. 1 2 Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Upham, Nathan S.; Emmons, Louise H.; Justy, Fabienne; Leite, Yuri L. R.; Loss, Ana Carolina; Orlando, Ludovic; Tilak, Marie-Ka; Patterson, Bruce D.; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P. (2017-03-01). "Mitogenomic Phylogeny, Diversification, and Biogeography of South American Spiny Rats". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 34 (3): 613–633. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msw261 . ISSN   0737-4038. PMID   28025278.
  14. ↑ Lara, Márcia C.; Patton, James L.; da Silva, Maria Nazareth F. (1996). "The Simultaneous Diversification of South American Echimyid Rodents (Hystricognathi) Based on Complete Cytochrome b Sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 5 (2): 403–413. doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0035. PMID   8728398.
  15. ↑ Leite, Yuri L. R.; Patton, James L. (2002). "Evolution of South American spiny rats (Rodentia, Echimyidae): the star-phylogeny hypothesis revisited". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 25 (3): 455–464. doi:10.1016/s1055-7903(02)00279-8. PMID   12450750.
  16. ↑ Galewski, Thomas; Mauffrey, Jean-François; Leite, Yuri L. R.; Patton, James L.; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P. (2005). "Ecomorphological diversification among South American spiny rats (Rodentia; Echimyidae): a phylogenetic and chronological approach". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 34 (3): 601–615. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.11.015. PMID   15683932.
  17. ↑ Upham, Nathan S.; Patterson, Bruce D. (2012). "Diversification and biogeography of the Neotropical caviomorph lineage Octodontoidea (Rodentia: Hystricognathi)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63 (2): 417–429. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.01.020. PMID   22327013.
  18. ↑ Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Galewski, Thomas; Tilak, Marie-ka; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P. (2013-03-01). "Diversification of South American spiny rats (Echimyidae): a multigene phylogenetic approach". Zoologica Scripta. 42 (2): 117–134. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2012.00572.x. ISSN   1463-6409. S2CID   83639441.
  19. ↑ Loss, Ana; Moura, Raquel T.; Leite, Yuri L. R. (2014). "Unexpected phylogenetic relationships of the painted tree rat Callistomys pictus (Rodentia: Echimyidae)" (PDF). Natureza on Line. 12: 132–136.
  20. ↑ Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Vilstrup, Julia T.; Raghavan, Maanasa; Der Sarkissian, Clio; Willerslev, Eske; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P.; Orlando, Ludovic (2014-07-01). "Rodents of the Caribbean: origin and diversification of hutias unravelled by next-generation museomics". Biology Letters. 10 (7): 20140266. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0266. ISSN   1744-9561. PMC   4126619 . PMID   25115033.
  21. ↑ Upham, Nathan S.; Patterson, Bruce D. (2015). "Evolution of Caviomorph rodents: a complete phylogeny and timetree for living genera". In Vassallo, Aldo Ivan; Antenucci, Daniel (eds.). Biology of caviomorph rodents: diversity and evolution. Buenos Aires: SAREM Series A, Mammalogical Research — Sociedad Argentina para el Estudio de los Mamíferos. pp. 63–120.
  22. ↑ Lost & Found. "Lost & Found - Once upon a time, there was an adventurer". Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  23. ↑ "Reserva ProAves El Dorado" (in Spanish). Fundación ProAves . Retrieved 16 May 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.