541.

Hairy-eared Cerrado Mouse

Thalpomys lasiotis

French: Akodon a oreilles velues / German: Haarohr-Cerrado-Feldmaus / Spanish: Ratén del Cerrado de oeja peluda

Other common names: Hairy-eared Akodont

Taxonomy. Habrothrix lasiotis Winge, 1887, Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Thalpomys lasiotis is the type species of the genus. Monotypic.

Distribution. EC & SE Brazil ( Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Sao Paulo states, and Distrito Federal), with an isolated record in W Brazil (Rondonia State); range may extend to Matto Grosso State.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 76 mm (mean value for males), tail 46 mm, ear 13 mm, hindfoot 16 mm; weight 21 g. Males seem to be slightly larger than females. The Hairy-eared Cerrado Mouse is a smaller version of the Common Cerrado Mouse (1: cerradensis) but with longer and more lax fur and more saturate color throughout. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 38, FN = 38.

Habitat. Open grasslands (“campo limpo”), open grasslands mixed with low shrubs (“campo cerrado”), open grasslands with scattered shrubs and trees (“campo sujo”), wet grasslands with water-saturated soil (“campo umido”), and wild grasslands with small natural earthen mounds without trees or underbrush (“campo de murundus”) in the Cerrado biome. The Hairy-eared Cerrado Mouse seems to have a patchy distribution occurring in higher densities in seasonally flooded habitats like campos de murundus.

Food and Feeding. The Hairy-eared Cerrado Mouse is considered to be insectivorous— omnivorous due to the high proportion of insect fragments found in its feces (70%). Weights of Hairy-eared Cerrado Mice vary little between seasons suggesting that diets also vary little seasonally.

Breeding. The Hairy-eared Cerrado Mouse apparently breeds differentially according to distribution; reproductive activity was recorded during wet season (November—February) in east-central Brazil but during end of dry season (August-October) in central Brazil. Overall, reproductive individuals occur in August—May. Litters have 2-3 young.

Activity patterns. The Hairy-eared Cerrado Mouse is nocturnal and terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mean home range of 26 Hairy-eared Cerrado Mice (both sexes) was 2278 m?; home ranges of males and females did not different. No differences in distances moved between dry and rainy seasons (both sexes) and mean distance moved by males between seasons were found. Distances moved by two males were more than 1 km, suggesting important displacement in search of food, females, or territories. The Hairy-eared Cerrado Mouse had a residency of 2-9 months in natural habitats. Densities in winter were 0-5-0-6 ind/ha. The Hairy-eared Cerrado Mouse occurs in higher numbers during dry season, and higher population estimates and densities were observed in June-October. Higher density recorded during dry season seems to be related to availability of grass seeds.

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

Bibliography. Alho & Pereira (1985), Andrade et al. (2004), Bonvicino & Bezerra (2003), Dietz (1983), Hershkovitz (1990a), Lacher et al. (1990), Marinho-Filho, Bonvicino & Vieira (2008b), Pardinas & Teta (2015¢), Ribeiro & Marinho-Filho (2005), Ribeiro et al. (2011), Santos & Henriques (2010), Thomas (1916d), Vieira (1997).