Peruvian Rice Rat
Encyclopedia
Oreoryzomys balneator, also known as the Peruvian Rice Rat or Ecuadoran Oryzomys, is a species of rodent
in the tribe Oryzomyini
of family Cricetidae
. It is found in Ecuador and northern Peru in cloud forest
at elevations from 1500 to 1800 m. It is the only species in the genus Oreoryzomys, which was included in Oryzomys
until 2006.
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 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 found in Ecuador and northern Peru in cloud forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
at elevations from 1500 to 1800 m. It is the only species in the genus Oreoryzomys, which was included in 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...
until 2006.