A new species of arboreal rat, genus Oecomys (Rodentia, Cricetidae) from Chaco

A new species of rodent is added to the highly diverse genus Oecomys (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae, Oryzomyini)based on specimens collected in the Argentinian provinces of Chaco and Formosa. The new species ischaracterized by a derived carotid circulatory pattern, a feature shared with O. concolor, O....

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Pardiñas, Ulises Francisco J., Teta, Pablo Vicente, Jorge Salazar Bravo, Myers, Phil, Galliari, Carlos Alberto
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2016
Country:Argentina
Institution:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repository:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/36873
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/36873
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Oecomys Mamorae
Oryzomyini
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Description
Summary:A new species of rodent is added to the highly diverse genus Oecomys (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae, Oryzomyini)based on specimens collected in the Argentinian provinces of Chaco and Formosa. The new species ischaracterized by a derived carotid circulatory pattern, a feature shared with O. concolor, O. mamorae, and O. sydandersoni. A unique combination of morphological, morphometric, and molecular characters, however,provides unambiguous evidence of its validity as a separate entity. Individuals of the new species are larger thanother representatives of Oecomys, and their skulls have wide and cuneate interorbital regions with well-developedsupraorbital shelves, long incisive foramina, long palates, absent alisphenoid struts, and broad Eustachian tubes.This new Oecomys appears to be endemic to the Humid Chaco, an ecoregion listed as Vulnerable due to thehuman impact. Preliminary observations suggest that several specimens from Eastern Paraguay and the BrazilianPantanal could also be assigned to the new species described herein.