363.

Pallid Atlantic Forest Rat

Delomys sublineatus

French: Délomys pale / German: Fahle Atlantische Waldratte / Spanish: Rata de bosque atlantico palida

Other common names: Pallid Delomys

Taxonomy. Oryzomys sublineatus Thomas, 1903, “Engenheiro Reeve [= Rive], Inland of Victoria, Prov. Espiritu [= Espirito] Santo, Brazil. Alt. 500 m. ” This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Atlantic Forest of SE Brazil.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 126-146 mm, tail 106-127 mm, ear 20-22 mm, hindfoot 28-30 mm; weight 41-60 g (mean 50 g). Dorsal pelage of the Pallid Atlantic Forest Rat is coarse and short. It usually lacks distinct mid-dorsal stripe and almost always has lateral line of clear yellow or buff separating dorsum and venter. Mystacial vibrissae are short, not extending to tips of pinnae when laid back alongside head. Hindfeet are covered dorsally with (usually) pure white hairs. Tail is strongly bicolored. Eight mammae present. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 72, FN = 90.

Habitat. Montane and pre-montane forest and mixed-coniferous forest from near sea level to elevations of ¢.1200 m. The Pallid Atlantic Forest Rat appears to prefer intact native forests compared to forest fragments.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Pallid Atlantic Forest Rat is nocturnal. Morphological characteristics (e.g. shorter vibrissae,tail, and fifth pedal digits) suggest that the Pallid Atlantic Forest Rat might be less scansorial than the Striped Atlantic Forest Rat ( D. dorsalis) and also slightly subterranean.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mean maximum distance moved from a original capture site was less than 50 m.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. The Pallid Atlantic Forest Rat has a wide distribution and presumably large overall population. It appears to be sensitive to forest fragmentation, with local abundance decreasing in smaller or more isolated patches.

Bibliography. Davis (1945), Pardini et al. (2005), Puttker, Bueno et al. (2013), Puttker, MeyerLucht & Sommer (2006, 2008a, 2008b), Puttker, Pardini et al. (2008), Umetsu & Pardini (2007), Voss (1993, 2015a).