64.

Brown Tuco-tuco

Citenomys pontifex

French: Tuco-tuco marron / German: Mittlere Kammratte / Spanish: Tuco tuco marron

Other common names: San Luis Tuco-tuco

Taxonomy. Ctenomys pontifex Thomas, 1918,

“East side of the Andes near Fort San Rafael, Province of Mendoza.” Restricted by O. P. Pearson and H. A. Lagiglia in 1992 to “Volcan Peteroa, Malargtie department, ca. 35°26’S, 70°20°'W.”

Ctenomys pontifex is not classified in any species group. Karyotype is 2n = 50, and sperm form remains unknown. Monotypic.

Distribution. CW Argentina (Mendoza Province), E of the Andes.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 183 mm, tail 77 mm, hindfoot 34 mm (all measurements from the adult female holotype). No specific data are available for body weight. The Brown Tuco-tuco is medium-sized. It is uniform drab brown above without dark spots, and under parts are pale and buffy. Tail is brown above and whitish below. Skull is rather narrow, and braincase lacks strong ridges. Zygomatic arches are not widely expanded and have medially ascending process placed posteriorly, which results in orbits larger than temporal fossa. Nasals are long and nearly parallel-sided. Bullae are long and narrow, quite different from the Mendoza Tucotuco ( C. mendocinus).

Habitat. There is no information available for this species.

Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Bidau (2015), Pearson & Lagiglia (1992).