Nephelomys maculiventer
Encyclopedia
Nephelomys maculiventer is a species of rodent
in the genus Nephelomys
of family Cricetidae
. The type locality is in Colombia
, at "Sierra El Libano, alt. 6000 ft, Santa Marta District". It was originally described on the basis of 47 specimens, including 34 from Sierra El Libano and 13 from "Valparaiso".
N. maculiventer has long and soft fur that is rufous in color on the upperparts and becomes lighter towards the sides. This coloration changes abruptly into that of the underparts, which are pure white in some adults. Juveniles are darker in color, with the underparts dark gray. As the animal matures, the gray fur of the underparts is gradually replaced by white fur. The ears are brown and nearly unhaired. The hindfeet are gray. The tail is brown above and lighter below. In 29 individuals of both sexes, the total length varies from 302 to 345 mm (11.9 to 13.6 in), the tail length from 162 to 194 mm (6.4 to 7.6 in), and the hindfoot length (including claws) from 29 to 36 mm (1.1 to 1.4 in). On average, males are slightly larger than females.
Joel Asaph Allen
, who named the species, classified it as a member of Oryzomys
, Oryzomys maculiventer, and compared it to the species now known as Nephelomys meridensis and Nephelomys albigularis. He described it as one of the largest members of Oryzomys as he understood the genus and also noted its distinctive coloration and the relatively short incisive foramina
. Later, it was submerged in a broadly defined Oryzomys albigularis (currently Nephelomys albigularis), but when the genus Nephelomys
was extracted from Oryzomys in 2006, N. maculiventer was reinstated as a separate species.
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 genus Nephelomys
Nephelomys
Nephelomys is a genus of South American oryzomyine rodents found in the Andes from Bolivia to Venezuela, with a westward extension into the mountains of Costa Rica...
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...
. The type locality is in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, at "Sierra El Libano, alt. 6000 ft, Santa Marta District". It was originally described on the basis of 47 specimens, including 34 from Sierra El Libano and 13 from "Valparaiso".
N. maculiventer has long and soft fur that is rufous in color on the upperparts and becomes lighter towards the sides. This coloration changes abruptly into that of the underparts, which are pure white in some adults. Juveniles are darker in color, with the underparts dark gray. As the animal matures, the gray fur of the underparts is gradually replaced by white fur. The ears are brown and nearly unhaired. The hindfeet are gray. The tail is brown above and lighter below. In 29 individuals of both sexes, the total length varies from 302 to 345 mm (11.9 to 13.6 in), the tail length from 162 to 194 mm (6.4 to 7.6 in), and the hindfoot length (including claws) from 29 to 36 mm (1.1 to 1.4 in). On average, males are slightly larger than females.
Joel Asaph Allen
Joel Asaph Allen
Joel Asaph Allen was an American zoologist and ornithologist, born in Springfield, Massachusetts.He studied at Harvard University under Louis Agassiz...
, who named the species, classified it as a member of Oryzomys
Oryzomys
Oryzomys is a genus of semiaquatic rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini living in southern North America and far northern South America. It includes eight species, two of which—the marsh rice rat of the United States and O. couesi of Mexico and Central America—are widespread; the six others have...
, Oryzomys maculiventer, and compared it to the species now known as Nephelomys meridensis and Nephelomys albigularis. He described it as one of the largest members of Oryzomys as he understood the genus and also noted its distinctive coloration and the relatively short incisive foramina
Incisive foramen
The fossa incisiva is an opening in the bone of the oral hard palate where blood vessels and nerves may pass. There are four of these openings in the incisive fossa.-Formation:...
. Later, it was submerged in a broadly defined Oryzomys albigularis (currently Nephelomys albigularis), but when the genus Nephelomys
Nephelomys
Nephelomys is a genus of South American oryzomyine rodents found in the Andes from Bolivia to Venezuela, with a westward extension into the mountains of Costa Rica...
was extracted from Oryzomys in 2006, N. maculiventer was reinstated as a separate species.
Literature cited
- Allen, J.A. 1899. New rodents from Colombia and Venezuela. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 12:195–218.
- 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., A. R. Percequillo, and R.S. Voss. 2006. Ten new genera of oryzomyine rodents (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae). American Museum Novitates 3537:1–29.