221.

Nicaraguan Harvest Mouse

Reithrodontomys paradoxus

French: Souris-moissonneuse du Nicaragua / German: Nicaragua-Erntemaus / Spanish: Raton espiguero de Nicaragua

Taxonomy. Reithrodontomys paradoxus J. K. Jones & Genoways, 1970, 3 mi (= 5 km) NNW Diriamba, ¢. 660 m, Carazo Dept., Nicaragua.

Reithrodontomys paradoxus is in subgenus Aporodon. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from isolated records in SW Nicaragua and WC Costa Rica.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 71-72, tail 96-101 mm, ear 13 mm, hindfoot 18 mm; for two individuals from the type locality. No specific data are available for body weight. The Nicaraguan Harvest Mouse is small; dorsum is buffy brown, infused with ocherous hairs; sides are ocherous; and venter is white. Hindfoot has characteristic wedgeshaped dusky area that extends to bases of toes. Tail is long relative to head-body length. Skull resembles that of the Short-nosed Harvest Mouse ( R. brevirostris), but it is longer and less inflated.

Habitat. Foothills in south-western Nicaragua and west-central Costa Rica.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Nicaraguan Harvest Mouse is presumably nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Hooper (1952a), Jones & Baldassarre (1982), Jones & Genoways (1970).