339.

Guianan Fish-eating Rat

Neusticomys oyapocki

French: Ichthyomys de I'Oyapock / German: Guyana-Fischratte / Spanish: Rata pescadora de Guayana

Other common names: Guianan Ichthyomyine, Oyapock’s Fish-eating Rat

Taxonomy. Daptomys oyapocki Dubost & Petter, 1979, near the banks of the Oyapock River, Trois Sauts, French Guiana.

Although N. oyapockiis treated as monotypic, it seems plausible that itis an allopatric sister taxa (subspecies?) to N. ferreirai, separated by the lower Amazon River. Monotypic.

Distribution. Scattered Amazonian lowland localities in French Guiana, S Surinam, and neighboring Brazilian territories N of Amazon River.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 96-115 mm, tail 66-87 mm, ear 9-12 mm, hindfoot 23-26 mm; weight 21-50 g. The Guianan Fish-eating Rat is a small species of Neut:comys. Dorsum is uniformly dark brown, rounded ears and feet are dark brown, and fingers are poorly haired and whitish. The Guianan Fish-eating Ratis more easily distinguished from congeners by cranial characteristics including inferior zygomatic root that is positioned well anterior to toothrow and typically lack of upper and lower M3.

Habitat. Streams in primary rainforest but apparently not restricted to aquatic habitats. Guianan Fish-eating Rats in Brazil were collected in terra firma forest at a site with rocky outcrops and streamsat elevations of 350-450 m. Most specimens (less than 20) have been collected in pitfall traps. Captures of the Guianan Fish-eating Rat occurred during dry (January-June) and rainy (August-December) seasons in primary, secondary, or plantation forests, suggesting it might be an opportunistic habitat generalist.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Guianan Fish-eating Rats are semi-aquatic.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. The Guianan Fish-eating Rat was discovered relatively recently, and there is very little information on its extent of occurrence, status, and ecological requirements. It could be threatened by artisanal gold mining activities in most parts of its known distribution.

Bibliography. Castro (2012), Catzeflis (2012, 2017), Catzeflis, de Thoisy et al. (2017), Catzeflis, Weksler et al. (2008), Dubost & Petter (1979), Leite et al. (2007), Lim & Joemratie (2011), Miranda et al. (2012), Nunes (2002), Voss (1988, 2015b), Voss et al. (2001).