708.

Tocantins Vesper Mouse

Calomys tocantinsi

French: Calomys du Tocantins / German: Tocantins-Vespermaus / Spanish: Ratén laucha de Tocantins

Other common names: Tocantins Laucha

Taxonomy. Calomys tocantinsi Bonvicino, Lima & Almeida, 2003, Rancho Beira Rio, 11°47°S, 49°45’W, 33 km south-west of Formoso do Araguala, Tocantins, Brazil.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Upper Rio Araguaia Basin in C Brazil.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 77- 116 mm, tail 60-75 mm, ear 13-5-21 mm, hindfoot 20-22-5 mm; weight 12-5-31 g. The Tocantins Vesper Mouse is medium-sized (mean head-body length 90 mm, mean greatest skull length 25 mm), with tail shorter than head-body length. Dorsal pelage is soft, brownish gray, and darker middorsally from muzzle to base of tail. Sides of body are slightly paler that dorsum; venter is clearly demarcated from sides and washed with white, with individual hairs whitetipped but gray at bases. Tail is bicolored, dark above and white below; hands and hindfeet are covered with small white hair; and ungual tufts are present. Ears are small (c.17 mm in length), covered with small dark hair; preauricular and post-auricular patches are present. Number of mammae unknown.

Habitat. Gallery forest at ecotone between Amazonian rainforest and Cerrado biomes and various formations of Cerrado proper.

Food and Feeding. The Tocantins Vesper Mouse is likely granivorous.

Breeding. Pregnant Tocantins Vesper Mice were reported in October-November, with an average of 7-3 embryos.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Bonvicino & Marinho-Filho (2008b), Bonvicino, Lima & Almeida (2003), Bonvicino, Oliveira & Gentile (2010), Cordeiro-Estrela et al. (2006), Rocha, R.G., Ferreira, Leite et al. (2011), Salazar-Bravo (2015c), Santos & Henriques (2010).