340.

Ferreira’s Fish-eating Rat

Neusticomys ferreirai

French: Ichthyomys de Ferreira / German: Ferreira-Fischratte / Spanish: Rata pescadora de Ferreira

Other common names: Ferreira’s Ichthyomyine

Taxonomy. Neusticomys ferreirai Percequillo, Carmignotto & M. J. J. Silva, 2005, 20 km W of the left bank of the Rio Juruena, in the municipality ofJuruena, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Scattered Amazonian lowland localities in NC Brazil S of Amazon River.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 106-114 mm, tail 75-95 mm, ear 8:5-12 mm, hindfoot 21-23 mm; weight 31-36 g. Ferreira’s Fish-eating Rat is a small species of Neuticomys. Dorsum is glossy brown, grizzled with orange; dorsal part of head is colored like body; cheeks predominantly orange; and venter is grayish orange buffy, indistinctly paler than dorsal pelage, harsher, and shorter. Eyes are small. Ears are small, rounded, conspicuous above fur of head and well-covered with short,stiff, dark brown hairs. Mystacial vibrissae are sparse and short, not surpassing ears when laid back alongside head. Dorsal surface of manus and pes are covered with short dark brown hairs; hindfeet have natatory fringe weakly developed on lateral metatarsal and tarsal margins; and short webbing occurs between pedal second, third, and fourth digits. Tail is short and unicolored, densely covered with long dark brown hairs. The few known specimens consistently have very small M?; M, are sometimes absent.

Habitat. Terra firma forests near small, slow-moving, clear-water, sandy-bottomed streams surrounded by primary forest with 25-30m high canopy bearing various epiphytes; subcanopy open with regularly spaced dicotyledonous trees and palms and abundant lianas (woody vines).

Food and Feeding. Arthropod remains (Crustacea) were found in a stomach of one Ferreira’s Fish-eating Rat.

Breeding. A pregnant Ferreira’s Fish-eating Rat with five large embryos was recorded in middle of dry season (June).

Activity patterns. Ferreira’s Fish-eating Rat is semi-aquatic.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Ferreira’s Fish-eating Rat was only recently discovered, and there is very little information on its extent of occurrence, status, and ecological requirements.

Bibliography. Braga & Duda (2017), Miranda et al. (2012), Percequillo & Weksler (2008a), Percequillo et al. (2005), Voss (2015b).