605.

Turimiquire Climbing Rat

Rhipidomys tenuicauda

French: Rhipidomys du Turimiquire / German: Turimiquire-Neuweltklettermaus / Spanish: Rata trepadora de Turimiquire

Taxonomy. Oryzomys tenuicauda J. A. Allen, 1899, Los Palmales, Sucre, Venezuela.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Serrania de Turimiquire of NE Venezuela.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 109-128 mm, tail 125-157 mm, hindfoot 23— 27 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Small rat similar to the Tawnybellied Climbing Rat ( R. fulviventer). Dorsum is often bright orange-brown-agouti, sometimes more chestnut brown; venter has cream hair tips on middle to dark gray bases. Tail is long (115-140% of head-body length, 145% in holotype), unicolored dark brown, varying from nearly naked at base but with increasingly long hair distally and terminating in thick pencil c.10 mm long. Ears are brown and lightly haired. Hindfeet are small and narrow, with dorsal dark patch extending to bases of toes and buff edges and digits.

Habitat. Premontane humid forest and coffee and cacao plantations at elevations of 945-2200 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Two female Turimiquire Climbing Rats captured by the Smithsonian Venezuelan Project in June-July had four embryos and one had five embryos.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The [UCN Red List.

Bibliography. Handley (1976), Tribe (1996, 2015).