714.

Hairy-footed Gerbil Mouse

Eligmodontia hirtipes

French: Eligmodonte a pattes velues / German: Haarf (iRige Hochlandwiistenmaus / Spanish: Raton colilargo de pies peludos

Other common names: Hairy-footed Laucha

Taxonomy. Phyllotis hirtipes Thomas, 1902, Challapata, Oruro, Bolivia.

Eligmodontia hirtipes was recently split from E. puerulus . Specimens from Potosi Department, Bolivia, require closer inspection to support their inclusion in E. hirtipes . Monotypic.

Distribution. Andes in S Peru, N Chile, and W Bolivia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 87-103 mm, tail 82-100 mm, ear 18-20 mm, hindfoot 24-27 mm; weight 15-35 g. Species of Eligmodontia are small delicate phyllotine rodents. Ears are typically large. Dorsum is yellowish to dark brown; venter is pure white to gray. Tail is moderately haired, with or without apical tuft, and typically longer than head-body length. Hindfeet are elongated, and as a generic autapomorphic trait, second through fourth interdigital pads are fused to form a hairy cushion. There are four pairs of mammae. These rodents are highly desert adapted and exhibit anatomical, physiological, and behavioral specializations that enable their xeric existence. Hair of the Hairy-footed Gerbil Mouse is long, soft, and lax. Dorsum is yellowish brown to sandy buff, with gray-based hairs providing darker streaking on back; very distinct buffy lateral line is present on adults but less well-developed in younger individuals. Some individuals have rather dark dorsal stripe, and others are nearly unicolored. Venter is generally unicolored and immaculate white. Ears are dark brown on external surfaces and paler on inner surfaces, with somewhat buffy hairs; small and pale subauricular patches are present in most individuals. Forefeet and hindfeet are dirty white above. Plantar surfaces have stiff whitish hairs. Tail is shorter (average 94-6%) than head-body length, weakly bicolored, slightly darker above and paler below, with short terminal pencil (2-4 mm) in most individuals. Chromosomal complement 1s 2n = 50, FN = 48.

Habitat. Dry Puna sandy areas with predominance of Lepidophyllum and Baccharis (both Asteraceae) shrubs at elevations above 3000 m.

Food and Feeding. The Hairy-footed Gerbil Mouse is herbivorous.

Breeding. In Bolivia, a pregnant female with four embryos was captured in May.

Activity patterns. The Hairy-footed Gerbil Mouseis terrestrial and nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. In Peru, densities of Hairy-footed Gerbil Mice exceeded 1 ind/ha, and home ranges (greatest distance traveled) averaged 92 m.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red Lust.

Bibliography. Anderson (1997), Hershkovitz (1962), Kelt et al. (1991), Lanzone & Ojeda (2005), Lanzone, Braun et al. (2015), Lanzone, Ojeda, A.A. et al. (2011), Lanzone, Ojeda, R.A. & Gallardo (2007), Mares et al. (2008), Ortells et al. (1989), Pacheco et al. (2009), Pearson (1951a), Pearson & Patton (1976), Pearson & Ralph (1978), Spotorno, Sufan-Catalan & Walker (1994), Spotorno, Walker et al. (2001), Spotorno, Zuleta et al. (2013).