578.

Budin’s Grass Mouse

Akodon budini

French: Akodon de Budin / German: Budin-Graslandmaus / Spanish: Ratén campestre de Budin

Other common names: Budin's Akodont

Taxonomy. Hypsimys budini Thomas, 1918, “Leon, [Leon], Jujuy, 1500 m,” Argentina .

Status of Hypsimys deceptor, currently subsumed under A. budini, and generic allocation of both forms needs additional research attention. Monotypic.

Distribution. E Andean slopes in SC Bolivia and NW Argentina .

Descriptive notes. Head-body 114-118 mm, tail 52-85 mm, ear 12-20 mm, hindfoot 22-27; weight 22-43 g. Budin’s Grass Mouse is a moderately large species of Akodon . Dorsum is olivaceous brown, finely sprinkled with black hairs; venter is slightly paler than dorsum; conspicuous patch of white hairs covers chin and, in some specimens, throat; and tail is bicolored, dorsally brown or blackish brown and ventrally whitish or buffy.

Habitat. Mostly upper elevational belts of Yungas forest at elevations of 800-2800 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Young Budin’s Grass Mice were reported in February—July, subadults in June, males with non-scrotal testes in June—September, males with scrotal testes in February andJuly, and females with closed and open vaginas in June and August. Individuals in actively shedding were found in June.

Activity patterns. Budin’s Grass Mouse is nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Diaz & Barquez (2007), Emmons (1997), Jayat (2016c), Jayat, Ortiz & Miotti (2008), Jayat, Ortiz, Pardinas & D’'Elia (2007), Jayat, Ortiz, Salazar-Bravo et al. (2010), Pardinas, Teta, Alvarado-Serrano et al. (2015).