Quechuan Hocicudo
Encyclopedia
Oxymycterus hucucha, also known as the Quechuan Hocicudo, is a species of rodent
in the genus Oxymycterus
of family Cricetidae
from South America. It is found only in a small region of the Andes
in central Bolivia, where it lives in cloud forest
at altitudes from 2600 to 3000 m.
Exceptionally small for its genus, O. hucucha was first recognized as new when a specimen was caught in 1984 in the Siberia Cloud Forest in Bolivia's Cochabamba Department
, near the border of Santa Cruz Department
. It was recognized as an Oxymycterus by its long claws relative to other, sympatric small akodontine
rodents. Two other specimens caught nearby in 1955 and 1979 were then recognized as pertaining to the same species; one had been misidentified as Akodon mimus. In 1987, O. hucucha and another small Oxymycterus, O. hiska from Peru, were named and described in an American Museum Novitates
paper by Felipe Hinojosa, Sydney Anderson, and James Patton. O. hucuchas specific name is derived from hucucha, which means "mouse" in Quechua
, the local Amerindian language in the region where the species is found.
It is similar in size to O. hiska, but slightly smaller, and the fur of the upperparts is more pale and reddish. Furthermore, the skull
is narrower, the palate
is longer, and the upper incisor
s are oriented more to the front, among other differences. Its coloration resembles that of some young O. inca, a larger Oxymycterus that occurs in the same region, but the latter have larger feet.
The IUCN lists its conservation status as "endangered" because it has a small distribution, its habitat is being destroyed, and it is not known from any protected areas.
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 Oxymycterus
Oxymycterus
Oxymycterus is the genus of hocicudos. They are rat-like animals endemic to South America.Species listing:Oxymycterus is the genus of hocicudos. They are rat-like animals endemic to South America.Species listing:...
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...
from South America. It is found only in a small region of 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...
in central Bolivia, where it lives 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 altitudes from 2600 to 3000 m.
Exceptionally small for its genus, O. hucucha was first recognized as new when a specimen was caught in 1984 in the Siberia Cloud Forest in Bolivia's Cochabamba Department
Cochabamba Department
Cochabamba is one of the nine component departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the "granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products due to Cochabamba's geographical position. It has an area of 55,631 km². Its population, in the 2007 census, was 1,750,000...
, near the border of Santa Cruz Department
Santa Cruz Department
Santa Cruz, with an area of 370,621 km², is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia. In the 2001 census, it reported a population of 2,029,471. The capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The state is one of the wealthiest states in Bolivia with huge reserves of...
. It was recognized as an Oxymycterus by its long claws relative to other, sympatric small akodontine
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...
rodents. Two other specimens caught nearby in 1955 and 1979 were then recognized as pertaining to the same species; one had been misidentified as Akodon mimus. In 1987, O. hucucha and another small Oxymycterus, O. hiska from Peru, were named and described in an American Museum Novitates
American Museum Novitates
American Museum Novitates is an academic journal published by the American Museum of Natural History. The journal was founded in 1921....
paper by Felipe Hinojosa, Sydney Anderson, and James Patton. O. hucuchas specific name is derived from hucucha, which means "mouse" in Quechua
Quechua languages
Quechua is a Native South American language family and dialect cluster spoken primarily in the Andes of South America, derived from an original common ancestor language, Proto-Quechua. It is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably...
, the local Amerindian language in the region where the species is found.
It is similar in size to O. hiska, but slightly smaller, and the fur of the upperparts is more pale and reddish. Furthermore, the skull
Skull
The skull is a bony structure in the head of many animals that supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. A skull without a mandible is only a cranium. Animals that have skulls are called craniates...
is narrower, the palate
Palate
The palate is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but, in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separate. The palate is divided into two parts, the anterior...
is longer, and the upper incisor
Incisor
Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.-Function:...
s are oriented more to the front, among other differences. Its coloration resembles that of some young O. inca, a larger Oxymycterus that occurs in the same region, but the latter have larger feet.
The IUCN lists its conservation status as "endangered" because it has a small distribution, its habitat is being destroyed, and it is not known from any protected areas.
Literature cited
- Dunnum, J., Vargas, J. and Bernal, N. 2008. . In IUCN. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on December 12, 2009.
- Hinojosa P., F., Anderson, S. and Patton, J.L. 1987. Two new species of Oxymycterus (Rodentia) from Peru and Bolivia. American Museum Novitates 2898:1–17.
- 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