''Diplomys'' is a genus 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

Echimyidae Echimyidae is the family of neotropical spiny rats and their fossil relatives. This is the most species-rich family of hystricognath rodents. It is probably also the most ecologically diverse, with members ranging from fully arboreal to terres ...

. They are found in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

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 ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

Systematics

The genus contains the following species: * Colombian soft-furred spiny rat (''Diplomys caniceps'') * Rufous soft-furred spiny rat (''Diplomys labilis'')

Phylogeny

''Diplomys'' is a member of the

Echimyini Echimyini is a tribe of echimyid rodents, proposed in 2016, and containing 13 extant genera: all of the tree rats ''Echimys'', ''Phyllomys'', '' Makalata'', ''Pattonomys'', '' Toromys'', ''Diplomys'', ''Santamartamys'', and ''Isothrix'', the long ...

clade of

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

Echimyidae rodents. The closest relative of ''Diplomys'' is ''Santamartamys'', reflecting the fact that these taxa have once been classified in the same genus. These two genera constitute the sister group of the "Dactylomyines", a clade of South American bamboo rats. All these taxa are closely related to the genera ''Echimys'', ''Phyllomys'', ''Makalata'', ''Pattonomys'', and ''Toromys''. In turn, these genera share phylogenetic affinities with the clade containing ''Lonchothrix'' and ''Mesomys'', and with ''Isothrix''.

References

Rodent genera Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Echimyidae-stub