384.

Nimble-footed Rice Rat

Nephelomys levipes

French: Néphélomysagile / German: ZartfliRige Reisratte / Spanish: Rata arrocera de pies ligeros

Other common names: Light-footed Rice Rat, Nimble-footed Nephelomys, Nimble-footed Oryzomys

Taxonomy. Oryzomys levipes Thomas, 1902, “Limbani, Dept. of Puno, S.E. Peru. Alt. 2200 [= 671 m].”

Nephelomys levipes was originally described under Oryzomys on the basis of specimens from Peru and Bolivia and was considered a smaller form of O. keaysi, the current Nephelomys keaysi . In 1944, P. Hershkovitz relegated O. levipes and O. keays: as synonyms of O. albigularis, where they remained until they were reinstated as species in the early 1990s based on genetic and other differences. When O. albigularis and related species were reclassified into a new genus, Nephelomys, in 2006, levipes and keaysi were retained as a distinct species. Monotypic.

Distribution. E Andean slopes from SW Peru to C Bolivia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 113-161 mm, tail 143-185 mm, ear 23 mm, hindfoot 33 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Nimble-footed Rice Rat is moderately large, with very dense, very long, and lax dorsal pelage, yellowish to ocherous and grizzled with brown. Ventral pelage is shorter and predominantly yellowishy without patches ofsingle-colored hairs. Tail is longer than head-body length, frequently weakly to strongly bicolored, and rarely unicolored. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 76, FN = 88.

Habitat. Primary and secondary cloud and elfin forests at elevations of 1800-3200 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Pregnant Nimble-footed Rice Rats with one or three embryos were collected in July and with two, four, or five embryos in June-August at localities in Puno and Cusco departments, Peru, respectively.

Activity patterns. Nimble-footed Rice Rats are terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Lust.

Bibliography. Anderson (1997), Eisenberg & Redford (1999), Gardner & Patton (1976), Hershkovitz (1944), Musser & Carleton (2005), Pacheco et al. (2009), Patton et al. (1990), Percequillo (2015g), Weksler et al. (2006), Zeballos (2016b).