''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 na ...

in the genus ''

Nephelomys ''Nephelomys'' is a genus of South American oryzomyine rodents found in the Andes from Bolivia to Venezuela, with a westward extension into the mountains of Costa Rica. Its generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''nephelê'' "mist", ...

'' of family Cricetidae. Described in 1860, it was the first ''Nephelomys'' species to be discovered. It was originally described in the defunct genus ''

Hesperomys Vesper mice are rodents belonging to a genus ''Calomys''. They are widely distributed in South America. Some species are notable as the vectors of Argentinian hemorrhagic fever and Bolivian hemorrhagic fever. The genus was originally named ''H ...

'' 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 ''Nephelomys meridensis'', also known as the Mérida oryzomys,Musser and Carleton, 2005, p. 1151 is a species of rodent in the genus ''Nephelomys'' of family Cricetidae.Weksler et al., 2006, p. 18 It is found in cloud forest in the Sierra Nevada ...

''. 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 A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''

Euryoryzomys nitidus ''Euryoryzomys nitidus'', also known as the elegant oryzomys or elegant rice rat, is a rodent species in the family Cricetidae. Previously it was known as ''Oryzomys nitidus'', but it is not closely related to ''Oryzomys'' as that genus is now co ...

''. 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 Oryzomyini is a tribe (taxonomy), tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae of the family Cricetidae. It includes about 120 species in about thirty genera,Weksler et al., 2006, table 1 distributed from the eastern List of mammals of the Uni ...

tribe, in which both ''Oryzomys'' and ''Nephelomys'' are classified, provided strong evidence that ''Oryzomys'' as recognized then was a polyphyletic genus. ''O. albigularis'' and one of its former

s, '' 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 ''Euryoryzomys'' is a genus of rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. It includes six species, which are distributed in South America. Until 2006, its members were included in the genus ''Oryzomys'', but they are not closely related ...

'', ''

Transandinomys ''Transandinomys'' is a genus of rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. It includes two species—'' T. bolivaris'' and '' T. talamancae''—found in forests from Honduras in Central America south and east to southwester ...

'', ''

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''.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 specimen ...

. 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 = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

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: ''Eku ...

and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

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 Cos ...

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 Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

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