''Melanomys zunigae'', also known as Zuniga's melanomysMusser and Carleton, 2005 or Zuniga's dark 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 genus ''

Melanomys ''Melanomys'' is a genus of rodent in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae, which is distributed in northern South America and adjacent Central America. It contains three species, two of which—'' Melanomys robustulus'' and '' Melanomys ...

'' of 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 ...

. Known only from a small region of coastal

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 ...

, it is listed as "critically endangered" 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 ...

and may even be extinct.

References

Literature cited

*Musser, G.G. and Carleton, M.D. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894–1531 in Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M. (eds.)
Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd ed
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols., 2142 pp. *Zeballos, H. and Vivar, E. 2008. . In IUCN. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2.
www.iucnredlist.org
. Downloaded on November 15, 2009. Mammals of Peru Mammals described in 1949 Melanomys Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Colin Campbell Sanborn {{Sigmodontinae-stub