The long-tailed spiny rat (''Proechimys longicaudatus'') is a spiny rat species found in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

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 ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

Description

The long-tailed spiny rat is a large rat with a head-and-body length of between and a tail length of . The fur is less bristly than in other related species. The upper parts are a glossy chestnut colour becoming more orange on the flanks. The underparts are white, and there is a clear line separating upper and lower parts. The tail is chestnut above and pale below. The tails are missing on some individuals, reflecting the lizard-like ability of many echimyids to detach their tails when attacked by predators.

Distribution and habitat

This species has a range in South America extending from southern Bolivia and northern Paraguay to western and central Brazil. It is terrestrial and inhabits dry primary and secondary forest, as well as

cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...

and habitats with cleared areas and patches of forest. It usually occurs at altitudes below but has been recorded up to about .

Ecology

A study was undertaken in Bolivia to establish which small rodents were reservoir hosts for '' Leishmania'', the causal agent for the human disease leishmaniasis. It was found that '' Oryzomys nitida'' and '' Oryzomys acritus'' were often implicated but that ''P. longicaudatus'' did not harbour the infection.

Phylogeny

Morphological characters and mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA sequences showed that ''P. longicaudatus'' belongs to the so-called ''longicaudatus'' group of ''Proechimys'' species, and shares closer phylogenetic affinities with the other members of this clade: '' P. brevicauda'' and '' P. cuvieri''.

Status

The long-tailed spiny rat is a common and adaptable species, being able to tolerate some degree of habitat modification. The dry forests in this part of South America are being cleared for agricultural purposes and it is thought the population trend of this rat is downwards. However, it has a wide range, and a presumed large total population, and the rate of decline is slow, so the

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 ...

has rated its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1769391 Proechimys Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Brazil Mammals of Peru Mammals of Paraguay Rodents of South America Mammals described in 1830 Taxa named by Johann Rudolph Rengger