New locality records of Rhagomys longilingua Luna & Patterson, 2003 (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Peru

Abstract

Abstract.Rhagomys longilingua is one of the rarest sigmodontine rodents of South America, currently known from only 2 localities (4 individuals) in Peru and Bolivia. Here we report 3 additional localities in Peru, one of which extends the geographic distribution range of this species 613 km northeast from the type locality (Suecia, Manu National Park, Cusco department). Potential distribution models showed the presence of R. longilingua from Bolivia until Colombia along the eastern slope of the Andes.

How many species of mammals are there in Brazil? New records of rare rodents (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) from Amazonia raise the current known diversity

“…The present record of R. longilingua is from an elevation of 105.1 m in Amazonian lowlands and extends the distribution of the collection localities of the species about 700 km eastwards. Medina et al (2017) also recovered this species ranging from 936 to 2,200 m of elevation on the additional localities they provide in Peru, stating that current elevational distribution lies between 450 and 2,200 m, but our records show that R. longilingua presents a wider elevation amplitude. Topographic variables showed to be important in explaining the species distribution of R. longilingua , even using the most common climatic variables in SDM studies (WorldClim variables; Hijmans et al, 2005 ).…”

“…This specimen shares with the holotype and with the original description of R. longilingua ( Luna & Patterson, 2003 ) the presence of hairs transformed into spines; the predominance of orange color of the head; the presence of large and ovate fenestrae on the parapterygoid fossae; the presence of well-developed postorbital process; and the presence of a large retromolar fossa. Regarding quantitative traits, the Brazilian specimen is similar in size to the Bolivian ( Villalpando, Vargas & Salazar-Bravo, 2006 ) and the Peruvian specimens ( Luna & Patterson, 2003 ; Medina et al, 2017 ), with values within the observed range ( Table 1 ). Nevertheless, there are some differences, with the specimen from Rondônia exhibiting slightly longer rostrum, wider incisive foramina, narrower interorbital region and narrower first upper molar.…”

“…All specimens recorded here were sampled with pitfall traps. Two of the three recently specimens of R. longilingua reported by Medina et al (2017) were captured with pitfall traps, as well as the recently reported specimens of genus Neusticomys ( Percequillo, Carmignotto & Silva, 2005 ; Leite, Silva & Da Gardner, 2007 ; Miranda et al, 2012 ; Braga & Duda, 2017 ). Therefore, we emphasize that surveys using pitfall traps are essential for the capture of these rodents, once again reinforcing the importance of this methodology on the study of Neotropical rodents (see Voss & Emmons, 1996 ; Abreu-Júnior et al, 2016 ; Abreu-Júnior, Brennand & Percequillo, 2017 ).…”

“…On the molar series, MJ550 lacks the anterolingual conule and anterocrista on M1, as well as the entoconid and the posterocrista on m3; on the m2, there is a small oblique projection posterior to the hypoconid, which could be assigned as a posterocrista, but as the tooth exhibits little wear it is difficult to confidently identify the structure. Medina et al (2017) reported that all three specimens recently obtained by them from Peru, exhibit the anterolingual conule and the posterocrista. Nevertheless, the absence of these structures in this new specimen suggests that they are polymorphic for the species, not configuring an exclusive diagnostic feature of R. longilingua as originally proposed ( Luna & Patterson, 2003 ).…”

New record of Marmosa (Stegomarmosa) andersoni Pine, 1972 (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae), a rare and endemic Peruvian marsupial

“…A general pattern emerges for the several species of fauna and flora along these forests, the geographic ranges of many Andean species are much longer than wide (Young 2007, Patterson et al 2012. In mammals, the species that follow this pattern have a wide variability in terms of their locomotory habits and dispersal capacity (cursorial, semifossorial, scansorial, arboreal, and flying), and include other marsupials species, such as: Gracilinanus aceramarcae (Tate, 1931) (Creighton and Gardner 2007), Marmos ops juninensis (Tate, 1931) (Peralta and Pacheco 2014), Monodelphis osgoodi Doutt, 1938 (Pine andHandley Jr 2007), Lestoros inca (Thomas, 1917) (Myers and Patton 2007); myomorph rodents: Akodon torques (Thomas, 1917) (Pardiñas et al 2015), Lenoxus apicalis (Allen, 1900) (Patton 2015), Nephelomys keaysi (Allen, 1900) (Percequillo 2015), Oecomys phaeotis (Thomas, 1901) (Carleton and Musser 2015), Rhagomys longilingua Luna and Patterson, 2003(Medina et al 2017, Thomas o mys daphne Thomas, 1917, T. gracilis Thomas, 1917(Pacheco 2015; hystricomorph rodents: Dasyprocta kalinowskii Thomas, 1897 (Patton and Emmons 2015a), Cuscomys spp. Emmons, 1999 (Patton andEmmons 2015b), Dactylomys peruanus Allen, 1900 (Emmons et al 2015), Isothrix barbarabrownae Velazco, 2005 (Patterson andVelazco 2008); and even bats such as Carollia manu Pacheco, Solari & Velazco, 2004(Pacheco et al 2004.…”