Las Cajas Water Mouse
Encyclopedia
The Las Cajas Water Mouse (Chibchanomys orcesi) is a species of rodent
in the family Cricetidae
. It is endemic to the Cajas National Park in Ecuador
. Its natural habitat
is the high grassland (páramo
) of the park, where it lives near streams, eating small fish and large invertebrates.
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
in the family Cricetidae
Cricetidae
The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, and New World rats and mice...
. It is endemic to the Cajas National Park in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is the high grassland (páramo
Páramo
The term páramo can refer to a variety of ecosystems. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as “all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline”. A more narrow term classifies the páramo according to its regional placement - specifically located in “the northern Andes...
) of the park, where it lives near streams, eating small fish and large invertebrates.