764.

Panama Climbing Rat

Tylomys panamensis

French: Tylomys du Panama / German: Panama-Kletterratte / Spanish: Rata trepadora de Panama

Other common names: Panamanian Climbing Rat

Taxonomy. Neomys panamensis Gray, 1873, “ Panama.”

Tylomys panamensis is known from only two specimens collected in the 1850s. Monotypic.

Distribution. E Panama at an elevation of 600 m; known localities are now in Darién National Park.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 226 mm, tail 199 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Panama Climbing Rat is the size of the Brown Rat ( Rattus norvegicus). Back is dark gray (blackish washed), with long hairs; sides of head and body are quite pale; throat, chest, lower body, and interior of legs are white; and legs are brown, with white hairs on nails. Tail is bicolored, naked, shiny, and flaky; two-thirds from base are dark and remaining one-third is white. Karyotype is 2n = 52; long pair is submetacentric, two pairs are small and submetacentric, and 22 pairs are medium and small acrocentric. X-chromosome is submetacentric, and Y-chromosome is subteocentric.

Habitat. Tropical wet forest and tropical rainforest, composed of Bauhinia spp. (Fabaceae), Oenocarpus spp. and Attalea spp. (both Arecaceae), Orchids ( Orchidaceae), Bromeliads (Bromelaceae), ferns, other epiphytes of family Cyclanthaceae, and Anthuriums spp. ( Araceae).

Food and Feeding. The Panama Climbing Rat probably feeds on fruits and shoots of plants.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Panama Climbing Rat is strictly nocturnal, with activity between 21:00 h and 06:00 h. It is most active around midnight and during rainy season in June-September.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Panama Climbing Rat is probably solitary. In Darien,it was reported moving at 17 cm/s in the jungle canopy.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Data on distribution, threats,status, ecological requirements, and taxonomic validity are needed to make an accurate conservation assessment.

Bibliography. Espinoza (2002), Goodwin (1955b), Handley (1966), Méndez-Carvajal et al. (2015), Musser & Carleton (2005), Nowak (1999), Pathak et al. (1973), Reid (2009), Wilson & Cole (2000).