432.

Hairy Pygmy Rice Rat

Oligoryzomys messorius

French: Colilargo glaneur / German: Haarige Zwergreisratte / Spanish: Rata arrocera pigmea peluda

Other common names: Hairy Colilargo

Taxonomy. Oryzomys navus messorius Thomas, 1901, Kanuku Mountains, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana.

Until recently, O. messorius was a junior synonym of O. delicatus . Monotypic.

Distribution. S Venezuela, S Guyana, S Suriname, and N Brazil (Roraima and Amapa states).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 75-90 mm, tail 85-105 mm,ear 11-13 mm, hindfoot 20-23-5 mm; weight 12-23 g. Dorsum of the Hairy Pygmy Rice Ratis grizzled grayish fawn, varying toward rufous; rump is more rufous than back; and face is grayer. Ears are comparatively short and a little darker than general color of head. Venter is dull whitish, with scarcely a trace of buffy, and not sharply defined laterally, and hairs are grayish basally. Hands and feet are white. Tail is short for the genus, thinly haired, brown above, lighter beneath, and not sharply contrasted.

Habitat. Rather open environments with shrubs instead of trees. Some Hairy Pygmy Rice Rats were caught in grassy habitats bordering an airstrip and savannas; they are common in areas of rice cultivation.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Pregnant Hairy Pygmy Rice Rats, with an average of three embryos, were found in June. Juveniles were found June, October, and December. Nests can be built in rice plants 50-80 cm aboveground.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. The Hairy Pygmy Rice Rat is broadly distributed, although there are no data on its population size, demographic trends, or conservation requirements.

Bibliography. Genoways, Reichart & Williams (1982), Genoways, Williams & Groen (1981), Husson (1978), Koop et al. (1983), Linares (1998), Soriano et al. (1999), Voss et al. (2001), Weksler & Bonvicino (2015b), Williams et al. (1983).