Akodon is a genus consisting of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

n grass mice. They mostly occur south of the Amazon Basin

Amazon Basin

The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...

 and along the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 north to Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, but are absent from much of the basin itself, the far south of the continent, and the lowlands west of the Andes. Akodon is one of the most species-rich genera of Neotropical rodents. Species of Akodon are known to inhabit a variety of habitats from tropical and tropical moist forests to altiplano and desert.

Akodon is the largest genus in the tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

 Akodontini

Akodontini

Akodontini is the second most speciose tribe of the subfamily Sigmodontinae. It includes at least 106 living species in 19 genera and is distributed mainly in the southern half of South America, with only two genera extending into Guyana and Venezuela . It also includes genera previously placed in...

. Three of its synonyms

Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...

—Chalcomys, Hypsimys, and particularly Microxus—have sometimes been regarded as distinct genera. Previously associated with Akodon, the genera Abrothrix

Abrothrix

Abrothrix is a genus of rodent in the tribe Abrotrichini of family Cricetidae.It contains the following living species:*Abrothrix andinus*Abrothrix hershkovitzi*Abrothrix illuteus*Abrothrix jelskii*Abrothrix lanosus...

, Deltamys, Necromys

Necromys

Necromys is a genus of South American sigmodontine rodents allied to Akodon. This genus has also been known as Cabreramys or more recently Bolomys. N. urichi has recently been transferred from Akodon....

, Thalpomys

Thalpomys

Thalpomys is a genus of South American rodents in the tribe Akodontini of family Cricetidae. Two species are known, both found in the cerrado tropical savanna ecoregion of central Brazil. They are as follows:* Cerrado Mouse...

, and Thaptomys are currently recognized as distinct.

The genus contains the following species:

• Akodon aerosus
• Akodon affinis
• Akodon albiventer
• Akodon azarae
• Akodon bogotensis
• Akodon boliviensis
• Akodon budini
• Akodon caenosus
• Akodon cursor
• Akodon dayi
• Akodon dolores
• Akodon fumeus
• Akodon glaucinus
• Akodon iniscatus
• Akodon juninensis
• Akodon kofordi
• Akodon latebricola
• Akodon lindberghi
• Akodon lutescens
• Akodon mimus
• Akodon mollis
• Akodon montensis
• Akodon mystax
• Akodon neocenus
• Akodon orophilus
• Akodon paranaensis
• Akodon pervalens
• Akodon philipmyersi
  Akodon philipmyersi
  Philip Myers' Akodont is a recently described species of grass mouse from Misiones Province, Argentina. Like other grass mice, A. philipmyersi is a small, non-descript, greyish-brown mouse with prominent ears...
  
  
• Akodon polopi
• Akodon reigi
• Akodon sanctipaulensis
• Akodon serrensis
• Akodon siberiae
• Akodon simulator
• Akodon spegazzinii
  Akodon spegazzinii
  Akodon spegazzinii, also known as Spegazzini's Akodont or Spegazzini's Grass Mouse, is a rodent in the genus Akodon found in northwestern Argentina. It occurs in grassland and forest at 400 to 3500 m above sea level...
  
  
• Akodon subfuscus
• Akodon surdus
• Akodon sylvanus
• Akodon tartareus
• Akodon toba
• Akodon torques
• Akodon varius

Literature cited

• Braun, J.K., Coyner, B.S., Mares, M.A. and Van Den Bussche, R.A. 2008. Phylogenetic relationships of South American grass mice of the Akodon varius group (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) in South America. Journal of Mammalogy 89(3):768-777.
• Braun, J. K., M. A. Mares, B. S. Coyner, and R. A. Van Den Bussche. 2010. New species of Akodon (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) from central Argentina. Journal of Mammalogy, 91(2):387–400.
• D'Elía, G., Jayat, J.P., Ortiz, P.E., Salazar-Bravo, J. and Pardiñas, U.F.J. 2011. Akodon polopi Jayat et al., 2010 is a senior subjective synomym of Akodon viridescens Braun et al., 2010 (first page). Zootaxa 2744:62–64.
• Jayat, J.P., Ortiz, P.E., Salazar-Bravo, J., Pardiñas, U.F.J. and D'Elía, G. 2010. The Akodon boliviensis species group (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) in Argentina: species limits and distribution, with the description of a new entity (abstract). Zootaxa 2409:1–61.
• Musser, G.G. and Carleton, M.D. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894–1531 in Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols., 2142 pp. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0
• Pardiñas, U.F.J., D'Elía, G., Cirignoli, S. and Suarez, P. 2005. A new species of Akodon (Rodentia, Cricetidae) from the Northern Campos grasslands of Argentina. Journal of Mammalogy 86(3):462–474.
• Pardiñas, U.F.J., Teta, P., D'Elía, G. and Diaz, G.B. 2011. Taxonomic status of Akodon oenos (Rodentia, Sigmodontinae), an obscure species from West Central Argentina (abstract). Zootaxa 2749:47–61.