The genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Neacomys, also known as bristly mice because of their spiny fur, includes several species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of rodent

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....

s in the tribe Oryzomyini

Oryzomyini

Oryzomyini is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae of family Cricetidae. It includes about 120 species in about thirty genera, distributed from the eastern United States to the southernmost parts of South America, including many offshore islands...

 of 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 most closely related to Oligoryzomys

Oligoryzomys

Oligoryzomys is a genus of rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. Many species are known as pygmy rice rats or colilargos...

, Oreoryzomys, and Microryzomys

Microryzomys

Microryzomys is a genus of rodent in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. It is closely related to Oreoryzomys, Oligoryzomys, and Neacomys. It contains two species, both restricted to the Andes: Microryzomys altissimus and Microryzomys minutus.-Literature cited:*Musser, G.G. and Carleton,...

. Neacomys species are mainly found in Amazonia, but N. pictus occurs in Panama and N. tenuipes in montane Colombia. In Amazonia, there is a single large species, N. spinosus, and a number of smaller ones, including N. dubosti, N. guianae, N. paracou, N. minutus, N. musseri, and various others that remain undescribed

Undescribed taxon

In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. Until such a description has been published, the taxon has no formal or...

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Literature cited

• 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
• Weksler, M. 2006. Phylogenetic relationships of oryzomyine rodents (Muroidea: Sigmodontinae): separate and combined analyses of morphological and molecular data. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 296:1–149.