''Oligoryzomys'' is a
genus of
rodents in the tribe
Oryzomyini of family
Cricetidae. Many species are known as pygmy rice rats or colilargos.
[Musser and Carleton, 2005] The genus is found from
Mexico to
Tierra del Fuego and includes approximately 17 species.
In
Argentina and
Chile, ''
Oligoryzomys longicaudatus'' and other members of the genus represent the reservoir for the
hantavirus strain
Andes virus (ANDV) (Wells et al., 1997; Levis et al., 1998; Cantoni et al., 2001).
Taxonomy
The genus ''Oligoryzomys'' is included in the subfamily
Sigmodontinae of the family
Cricetidae. The genus is placed in the
Oryzomyini tribe, first proposed by
Oldfield Thomas
Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist.
Career
Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...
in the early 20th century. It includes genera that have certain dental features of the upper and lower molars and a long palate which extends past the third molars. More recently, molecular analysis and morphological data has placed the genus in Clade C, alongside ''
Neacomys'', ''
Microryzomys'' and ''
Oreoryzomys''.
Characteristics
Characteristics that identify this group are broad rostrum, a tail that is longer than its head, and short broad hind feet. Pygmy rice rats are very small rodents, with a head-and-body length of between and a tail length of between .
They are greyish-brown or reddish-brown animals that resemble members of the genus ''
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 ...
'' in appearance. They differ from ''Oryzomys'' in being mostly terrestrial rather than semi-aquatic and in having longer tails in proportion to their body size. The females have four pairs of
mammary glands.
The snout is pointed, the ears are rounded and the long slender tail is hairless.
[
]
Ecology
Pygmy rice rats occupy a range of habitats including tropical forests, dry forests, plantations, scrubland, mountain grassland, agricultural land, gardens and houses. They are nocturnal and solitary and feed mainly on seeds, insects and fruits. They are mostly found on the ground but can climb into the undergrowth. They can be agricultural pests, particularly in rice fields.[
Some species such as '' O. flavescens'' and '' O. longicaudatus'']
References
Literature cited
*IUCN. 2009. 2009 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
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 biologi ...
. 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 ...
. Version 2009.2. Retrieved on December 8, 2009.
*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.
*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.
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q244303
Rodent genera
Taxa named by Outram Bangs