''Nephelomys albigularis'', also known as the white-throated oryzomys or Tomes's 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 n ...

in the genus '' Nephelomys'' 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 h ...

. Described in 1860, it was the first ''Nephelomys'' species to be discovered. It was originally described in the defunct genus '' Hesperomys'' as ''Hesperomys albigularis'' and considered related to the much smaller ''H. longicaudatus'' (currently ''

Oligoryzomys longicaudatus ''Oligoryzomys longicaudatus'', also known as the long-tailed colilargo or long-tailed pygmy rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus '' Oligoryzomys'' of the family Cricetidae. It is found in the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina, with ...

''). By 1894, it was 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 ...

'', as ''Oryzomys albigularis'', and associated with what is now '' Nephelomys meridensis''. In the early 1960s, the scope of the species was considerably expanded to include most of the species that are now in ''Nephelomys'', as well as a single name, ''boliviae'', that is currently a synonym of '' Euryoryzomys nitidus''. From 1976 on, several of these were reinstated as separate species.Musser and Carleton, 2005, p. 1145 In 2006, a

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis by Marcelo Weksler of the oryzomyine tribe, in which both ''Oryzomys'' and ''Nephelomys'' are classified, provided strong evidence that ''Oryzomys'' as recognized then was a

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

genus. ''O. albigularis'' and one of its former synonyms, '' O. levipes'', were included; they consistently clustered into a single group within a larger group that included species now placed in ''

Hylaeamys ''Hylaeamys'' is a genus of South American oryzomyine rodents found principally in humid forested areas east of the Andes. The species in this genus have historically been placed in ''Oryzomys''. They are most closely related to ''Euryoryzomys'', ...

'', '' Euryoryzomys'', '' Transandinomys'', ''

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 ''

Oecomys ''Oecomys'' is a genus of rodent within the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. It contains about 17 species, which live in trees and are distributed across forested parts of South America, extending into Panama and Trinidad Trinidad i ...

''.Weksler, 2006 Accordingly, the group of species around ''O. albigularis'' was reclassified into a new genus, ''Nephelomys'', with ''albigularis'' as its

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

. Since then, the species has been known as ''Nephelomys albigularis''. Of the seven synonyms still placed under ''N. albigularis'' in 2005, five were reclassified as separate species, '' N. childi'', '' N. maculiventer'', '' N. moerex'', '' N. pectoralis'', and '' N. pirrensis'', one (''oconnelli'') was placed under ''N. childi'', and the last (''villosus'') was not mentioned. Before the other five species were recognized as separate, it was recorded as being distributed from northern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

via 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 ...

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: ' ...

and Colombia into eastern

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 Co ...

and northwestern

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. No revised distribution has been published taking into account the recognition of the other species.Weksler et al., 2006, p. 18 These have type localities in Panama, Colombia, and western Ecuador; the type locality of ''N. albigularis'' itself is also in Ecuador. It is known from montane forest at altitudes of 900 to 3300 m. It is nocturnal and omnivorous.

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. *Reid, F., Samudio, R., Tirira, D., Boada, C., Weksler, M., Anderson, R.P., Rivas, B., Delgado, C. and Gómez-Laverde, M. 2008. . In IUCN. 2008

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

of Threatened Species. Retrieved on April 24, 2009. *Thomas, O. 1894. Descriptions of some new Neotropical Muridae. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (6)14:346–365. *Tomes, R.F. 1860. Notes on a third collection of Mammalia made by Mr. Fraser in the republic of Ecuador. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 28:260–268. *Weksler, M. 2006
Phylogenetic relationships of oryzomyine rodents (Muroidea: Sigmodontinae): separate and combined analyses of morphological and molecular data
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 296:1–149. * {{Taxonbar, from=Q24278919 Nephelomys Mammals of Colombia Mammals of the Andes Mammals described in 1860 Taxa named by Robert Fisher Tomes Taxonomy articles created by Polbot