The lesser Wilfred's mouse (''Juliomys pictipes'') is a species of

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 ...

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 of the family Cricetidae. It was first described by Wilfred H. Osgood under the name ''Thomasomys pictipes'', then into the genus Wilfredomys, and now known as ''Juliomys pictipes.'' The lesser Wilfred's mouse is endemic to northeastern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and southeastern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Its physical appearance ranges from dark brown to light orange coloration and the typical size is small to medium. This species is arboreal, spending most of its time trees and living in the local forests at altitudes from

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

to 2000 m. Currently, this species is listed as Least Concern by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

, but, threats include livestock farming, ranching, and wood harvesting.

Taxonomy

Juliomys pictipes was first discovered by Osgood in 1933. It was originally named ''Thomasomys pictipes''. For several decades, the placement of this species was uncertain and fairly recently changed to ''Juliomys pictipes'' to fit under the subfamily of

Sigmodontinae The rodent subfamily Sigmodontinae includes New World rats and mice, with at least 376 species. Many authorities include the Neotominae and Tylomyinae as part of a larger definition of Sigmodontinae. When those genera are included, the specie ...

rodents. Currently, there are three species under the genus of

Juliomys ''Juliomys'' is a genus of South American rodents of the family Cricetidae. Five species are known, all found in Argentina and Brazil. They are as follows: *''Juliomys anoblepas'' (extinct) *''Juliomys ossitenuis'' *''Juliomys pictipes'' (Lesser W ...

. The taxon identifier is 89132.

Description

This animal is considered to be small to medium sized

rodents. They are dark-brown to light-orange brown. Other characteristics include having long soft fur with a brownish ochraceous dorsum. This small-bodied animal is a pentalophodont with a tail longer than its head and body. ''Juliomys pictipes'' have short, broad feet with 6 plantar pads. In addition, the skull has identifying features including having a short rostrum and rounded braincase. Another diagnostic characteristic is the presence of an open slit in the suture between the frontal bones. Lastly, its

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...

has 2n = 36, FN = 34.

Distribution and habitat

It is found in northeastern

and southeastern

and limited to the tropical and subtropical moist forests of those countries. The type locality was first discovered in Misiones, Argentina and occurs in the Atlantic forest.

Ecology

The species is arboreal. A baby of this species is often called a pinkie, kitten or pup. The females are called doe and males are called buck. Groups of this species are called a nest, colony, harvest, horde or mischief.

Status

The Lesser wilfred's mouse is listed as Least Concern. But, threats that increase mortality or decrease quality of life include livestock farming, ranching, and wood harvesting.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1766981 Juliomys Mammals described in 1933