Neusticomys
Genus of rodents
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neusticomys is a genus of semiaquatic, animalivorous South American rodents in the family Cricetidae.[1]
| Neusticomys | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Sigmodontinae |
| Subtribe: | Ichthyomyina |
| Genus: | Neusticomys Anthony, 1921 |
| Type species | |
| Neusticomys monticolus Anthony, 1921 | |
| Species | |
|
N. monticolus | |
The term Neusticomys derives from the two ancient greek words νευστικός (neustikós), meaning "able to swim", and μῦς (mûs), meaning "mouse, rat".[2][3] N. monticolous and N. vossi primarily inhabit montante regions of west Columbia and eastern Ecuador, with the former noted to occur in the Andean Cordillera and the Occidental mountain range at elevations of 1,800-3,750 meters. The rest inhabit tropical lowland forests primarily in the northern and eastern regions of the Amazon rainforest, whereas N. peruviensis is an endemic species to Peru.[4][5]
This genus contains the following threespecies:[6]
- Montane fish-eating rat (N. monticolus) — Anthony, 1921
- Las Cajas water mouse (N. orcesi) — (P. D. Jenkins & Barnett, 1997)
- Voss' fish-eating rat (N. vossi) — (Hanson, D'Elía, Ayers, Cox, Burneo & Lee, 2015)
Distribution
| Species | Ecosystem | Endemic to |
|---|---|---|
| N. monticolus | Montane ecosystem (at elevations of 1800–3750 meters) | Northern Ecuador and western Colombia |
| N. vossi | Montane ecosystem (at elevations of 1900–3750 meters) | Southern Colombia and northern and central Ecuador |
