''Aegialomys xanthaeolus'', also known as the yellowish oryzomys or yellowish rice rat, is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the family

Cricetidae The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice. At almost 608 species, it is the second-largest family of mammals, and has m ...

. It belongs to the genus ''

Aegialomys ''Aegialomys'' is a genus of oryzomyini, oryzomyine rodents from the lowlands and mountains of western Peru and Ecuador, including the Galápagos Islands. The species in this genus have historically been placed in ''Oryzomys'', but according to c ...

'' in tribe

Oryzomyini Oryzomyini is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae of the family Cricetidae. It includes about 120 species in about thirty genera,Weksler et al., 2006, table 1 distributed from the eastern United States to the southernmost parts of S ...

, which was not recognized as distinct from ''

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 (''O. palustris'') of the United States and ...

'' until 2006. It is found in coastal

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Though it is currently the only formally recognized mainland species of ''Aegialomys'', at least one other exists.Weksler et al., 2006 The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

is sometimes incorrectly spelled "''xantheolus''", without the second "a".

References

Literature cited

* *Weksler, M., Percequillo, A.R. and Voss, R.S. 2006
Ten new genera of oryzomyine rodents (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae)
''American Museum Novitates'' 3537:1–29. *Zeballos, H. and Weksler, M. 2008. . In IUCN. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2.
www.iucnredlist.org
. Downloaded on November 25, 2009. Aegialomys Mammals described in 1894 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Sigmodontinae-stub