Tome's spiny rat

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Tome's spiny-rat [1]
Proechimys semispinosus 254496464.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Echimyidae
Tribe: Myocastorini
Genus: Proechimys
Species:
P. semispinosus
Binomial name
Proechimys semispinosus
(Tomes, 1860)
Subspecies

P. s. burrusBangs, 1901
P. s. calidiorThomas, 1911
P. s. centralis(Thomas, 1896)
P. s. colombianusThomas, 1914
P. s. goldmaniBole, 1937
P. s. ignotusKellogg, 1946
P. s. panamensisThomas, 1900
P. s. rosaThomas, 1900
P. s. rubellusHollister, 1914
P. s. semispinosus(Tomes, 1860)

Contents

Proechimys semispinosus distribution (gray).png
Synonyms [3]

P. gorgonae Bangs, 1905

Tome's spiny rat (Proechimys semispinosus), also known as Tomes' spiny rat [4] or the Central American spiny rat, is a species of spiny rat distributed from Honduras to Ecuador. The IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

Description

Tome's spiny rat is a large rat with a head-and-body length of between 220 and 280 mm (8.7 and 11.0 in) and a tail length of between 175 and 192 mm (6.9 and 7.6 in). The head is long and slender, with prominent eyes and narrow erect ears. At night, the eyes reflect a reddish eyeshine. The feet are long with strong nails. The pelage is sleek with spines mixed in with the dorsal fur, though these are not very obvious in the field. The upper parts are reddish-brown while the underparts are white. The tail is almost hairless and is reddish-brown above and white below. About 20% of animals encountered have no tail. This rat could be confused with the armored rat (Hoplomys gymnurus) which is much the same size, but the armored rat has a longer snout and smaller eyes, which are less reflective at night. Other terrestrial rats are considerably smaller and mostly have tails that are longer than their head-and-body lengths. [4]

Its karyotype has 2n = 30 and FN = 50-54. [1]

Distribution

The range of Tome's spiny rat extends from southeastern Honduras to southwestern Ecuador and possibly to northern Peru. It generally keeps below 800 m (2,620 ft) but in Ecuador may be found a little higher. It is a common species in evergreen and deciduous forest, favouring riparian corridors and low-lying areas. It is a tolerant and adaptable species, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". [2]

Ecology

Tome's spiny rat is a nocturnal, mainly ground-dwelling rat. During the day it may hide in a burrow or under a fallen tree, in a hollow log or in dense vegetation. At night it moves slowly and often sits stationary beside a tree buttress or log. It may freeze if caught in the open. It feeds on fruits and seeds, fungi, plant material and insects, carrying larger objects to a safe place before consuming them. The females can breed four times a year, producing litters of up to five precocial young. [4] The reproductive rate seems to be limited by the availability of food. [5] On a group of small islands in Panama, each of which had its own range of tree species which fruited at different seasons, there were few births on each islet at times of fruit shortage and many at times of fruit abundance; the seasonal effects were even more marked when the spiny rat was the only frugivorous mammal on the island. [5]

Phylogeny

Morphological characters and mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA sequences showed that P. semispinosus belongs to the so-called semispinosus group of Proechimys species, and shares closer phylogenetic affinities with the other member of this clade: P. oconnelli . [6] [7] [8]

Species-level cladogram of the genus Proechimys.
Myocastorini   
   Hoplomys   

  Hoplomys gymnurus

   Proechimys   

  Proechimys canicollis (Colombian spiny rat)

  Proechimys decumanus (Pacific spiny rat)

  Proechimys echinothrix (Stiff-spine spiny rat)

  Proechimys simonsi (Simon's spiny rat)

  group gardneri  
  group semispinosus  
  group guyannensis  
  group longicaudatus  
  group goeldii  
  group trinitatus  
The cladogram has been reconstructed from morphological characters and mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome b) sequences. [6] [7] [9] [8]

Disease

Tome's spiny rat can serve as a reservoir species for the trypanosomes that are responsible for the disease leishmaniasis, which is spread by sandflies and affects humans. The rat can be infected and harbour the parasite without showing clinical signs of the disease. [10]

It also hosts the virus Thurisazvirus myis . [11]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Species Proechimys semispinosus". 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. 1588. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  2. 1 2 Roach, N.; Naylor, L. (2016). "Proechimys semispinosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T18297A22208264. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T18297A22208264.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. ↑ Gómez-Laverde, M.; Aguilera, M.; Boada, C.; Timm, R. (2008). "Proechimys semispinosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Reid, Fiona (2009). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico. OUP USA. p. 251. ISBN   978-0-19-534322-9.
  5. 1 2 Leigh, Egbert Giles (1999). Tropical Forest Ecology: A View from Barro Colorado Island. Oxford University Press. p. 28. ISBN   978-0-19-509603-3.
  6. 1 2 Patton, James L. (1987). "Species groups of spiny rats, genus Proechimys (Rodentia: Echimyidae)". Fieldiana: Zoology, Studies in Neotropical Mammalogy: Essays in Honor of Philip Hershkovitz. 39: 305–345. ISSN   0015-0754.
  7. 1 2 Da Silva, Maria Nazareth F. (1998). "Four New species of spiny rats of the genus Proechimys (Rodentia : Echimyidae) from the Western Amazon of Brazil". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 111: 436–471. ISSN   0006-324X.
  8. 1 2 Patton, James L.; Leite, Rafael N. (2015-03-09). "Genus Proechimys J. A. Allen, 1899". In Patton, James L.; Pardiñas, Ulyses F. J.; D’Elía, Guillermo (eds.). Mammals of South America, Volume 2: Rodents. University of Chicago Press. pp. 950–989. ISBN   9780226169606.
  9. ↑ Patton, James L.; Da Silva, Maria Nazareth F.; Malcolm, Jay R. (2000-01-01). "Mammals of the Rio Juruá and the evolutionary and ecological diversification of Amazonia". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 244: 1–306. doi: 10.1206/0003-0090(2000)244<0001:MOTRJA>2.0.CO;2 . ISSN   0003-0090. S2CID   85577629.
  10. ↑ Travi, B.L.; Arteaga, L.T.; Leon, A.P.; Adler. G.H. (2002). "Susceptibility of spiny rats (Proechimys semispinosus) to Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis and Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi". Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. 97 (6): 887–892. doi: 10.1590/S0074-02762002000600025 . PMID   12386716.
  11. ↑ Paraskevopoulou S, Pirzer F, Goldmann N, Schmid J, Corman VM, Gottula LT, et al. (July 2020). "Proechimys semispinosus". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 117 (30): 17977–17983. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2006750117 . PMC   7395443 . PMID   32651267.
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