385.

Hammond's Rice Rat

Mindomys hammondi

French: Mindomys / German: Hammond-Reisratte / Spanish: Rata arrocera de Hammond

Other common names: Hammond's Mindomys, Hammond's Oryzomys

Taxonomy. Nectomys hammond: Thomas, 1913, “Mindo, N.W. of Quito, Ecuador. Alt. 4213 ft [= 1284 m].”

Mindomys hammond: is the type species of the genus. Monotypic.

Distribution. W Andean slope in NW Ecuador; a record from the Amazonian region ( Napo Province) needs confirmation.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 173-293 mm, tail 222-251 mm, ear 18-19 mm, hindfoot 38-42 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Hammond’s Rice Rat is large oryzomyine rodent, one of the largest of the subfamily. Dorsum is grayish to yellowish brown; venter is yellowish/ brownish/grayish. Ears are small, with short hairs covering inner and outer brown surfaces. Forelegs are sturdy and covered by short brown hairs on dorsal surfaces; hindlegs are densely covered with grayish or whitish hair on dorsal surfaces. Ungual hairs are short and scattered and extend to tips of claws on second to fifth digits. Tail has long hairs that can cover scales; hairs are longer toward tip oftail. Tail is blackish or dark brown uniform and larger than head-body length. Females have four pairs of mammae: one pectoral, one posaxial, one abdominal, and one inguinal.

Habitat. Montane rainforest (cloud forest), except in river valleys where forest is similar to late successional lowland rainforest, at elevations of 1260-1330 m. Canopies in habitats of Hammond’s Rice Rat are 15-20 m high, and trees are covered with epiphytes (orchids, bromeliads, Araceae, and lianas) and thin moss layer; and most common emergent are palms and giant bamboo. Understories are dense and formed by woody dicotyledonous (mainly Piperaceae and Melastomataceae), Musaceae, Zingiberaceae, Cyclanthaceae, small Arecaceae, and a giant Equisetum (Equisetaceae) .

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Hammond's Rice Rat is nocturnal. Its long tail and broad-feet suggest arboreallifestyle.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Hammond's Rice Rat’s extent of occurrence is small, all known individuals are in fewer than five locations, and there is continuing decline in extent and quality ofits habitat.

Bibliography. Hershkovitz (1948, 1970), Percequillo (2015f), Thomas (1913b), Tirira (2007), Tirira, Boada & Weksler (2008a), Weksler et al. (2006).