''Hylaeamys'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

oryzomyine Oryzomyini is a tribe (taxonomy), 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 List of mammals of the Uni ...

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 ...

s found principally in humid forested areas east of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The species in this genus have historically been placed in ''

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 ...

''. They are most closely related to ''

Euryoryzomys ''Euryoryzomys'' is a genus of rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. It includes six species, which are distributed in South America. Until 2006, its members were included in the genus ''Oryzomys'', but they are not closely related ...

'', ''

Transandinomys ''Transandinomys'' is a genus of rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. It includes two species—'' T. bolivaris'' and '' T. talamancae''—found in forests from Honduras in Central America south and east to southwester ...

'', ''

Nephelomys ''Nephelomys'' is a genus of South American oryzomyine rodents found in the Andes from Bolivia to Venezuela, with a westward extension into the mountains of Costa Rica. Its generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''nephelê'' "mist", ...

'', '' Oecomys'', and ''

Handleyomys ''Handleyomys'' is a genus of Central and South American rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. It was first described in 2002 to include two species from the Colombian Andes which were previously included in distinct and unrelat ...

'', and most closely resemble species of the former two genera. They are distinguished from members of ''Euryoryzomys'' by all-dark or indistinct two-tone tail coloration (as opposed to the distinct two-tone tail coloration of ''Euryoryzomys''), from members of ''Transandinomys'' by having shorter

whiskers Vibrissae (; singular: vibrissa; ), more generally called Whiskers, are a type of stiff, functional hair used by mammals to touch, sense their environment. These hairs are finely specialised for this purpose, whereas other types of hair are c ...

above their eyes that do not extend posteriorly behind their ears, and in both cases by differences in carotid circulation. The genus is named after ''hylaea'' ("forest" in Greek), the term used by Humboldt for the lowland South American

rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

that are the main habitat of the genus. The genus currently comprises the following species: * ''

Hylaeamys acritus ''Hylaeamys acritus'', formerly ''Oryzomys acritus'', is an oryzomyine rodent of the family Cricetidae. The name is derived from the Greek word ακριτος 'confused, doubtful', because it could easily be confused with species such as ''H. me ...

'' * ''

Hylaeamys laticeps ''Hylaeamys laticeps'', also known as the Atlantic Forest oryzomysMusser and Carleton, 2005 or the large-headed rice rat, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. The rodent is endemic to the Atlantic Forest region of southeastern Brazil ...

'' * ''

Hylaeamys megacephalus ''Hylaeamys megacephalus'', also known as Azara's broad-headed oryzomys or the large-headed rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus ''Hylaeamys'' of family Cricetidae, of which it is the type species. It is found mainly in lowland tropical ...

'' * ''

Hylaeamys oniscus ''Hylaeamys oniscus'', the sowbug rice rat, is a rodent species in the family Cricetidae. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Oryzomys'' as ''Oryzomys oniscus''. It occurs only in northeastern Brazil. It is close to ''Hylaeamys laticeps ''Hy ...

'' * ''

Hylaeamys perenensis ''Hylaeamys perenensis'', formerly ''Oryzomys perenensis'', also known as the western Amazonian oryzomys, is an oryzomyine rodent of the family Cricetidae. It is found in western Amazonia (southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, ...

'' * '' Hylaeamys tatei'' * '' Hylaeamys yunganus''

References

* Rodent genera Taxa named by Marcelo Weksler Taxa named by Alexandre Reis Percequillo {{sigmodontinae-stub