681.

Edwards’s Long-clawed Mouse

Notiomys edwardsii

French: Notiomys d'Edwards / German: Edwards-Langkrallenmaus / Spanish: Raton de unas largas de Edwards

Other common names: Edward's Long-clawed Akodont

Taxonomy. Hesperomys (Notiomys) edwardsii Thomas, 1890, “la Patagonia, au sud de Santa Cruz, vers 50° degré de latitude Sud.” Restricted by U. F. J. Pardinas and colleagues in 2008 to Puerto Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Argentina.

Notiomys edwardsii is the type species of the genus. A moderate degree of morphological and molecular variation is recorded among known samples. Monotypic.

Distribution. S Argentina; a putative record from S Chile, based on a poor photograph of a field-died specimen without measurements, needs confirmation with appropriate voucher material.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 80-115 mm, tail 35-42 mm, ear 6-5-7 mm, hindfoot 17-19 mm; weight 17-19 g. Edwards’s Long-clawed Mouse is small and short-tailed, with fusiform body and minute eyes and ears. Its fur is not mole-like but has bright color. Dorsal pelage is dense and soft. Dorsal head and body shows an agouti effect, produced by almost entirely gray hairs with ocherous tips; venter is gray cream to white. Line of hairs with their distal one-half orange separates dorsum and venter. Muzzle has bright orange spots laterally; rhinarium is tipped with pinkish, leathery button. Eyes are small (c.4 mm in diameter). Longest mystacial vibrissae (c.30 mm) are white and surpass pinnae margin when appressed against sides of head. Pinnae are small and extremely thin, edged with long and silky white hair; ears are almost totally buried in head fur. Tail is whitish, slightly brownish above, and well-haired. Hindfeet are short and broad, with lateral fringes of stiff hairs extending well beyond plantar surfaces. Foreclaws are long (c.4 mm). Palms and soles are naked, except for heels.

Habitat. Shrub and herbaceous steppes and basaltic plateaus, including those with hostile climatic conditions.

Food and Feeding. Edwards’s Long-clawed Mouse is insectivorous but might eat some seeds. One stomach content retrieved arthropod remains including larvae of tipulids ( Diptera, Tipulidae) and scorpions ( Scorpiones, Bothriuridae).

Breeding. Non-reproductive female Edwards’s Long-clawed Mice were recorded during austral summer.

Activity patterns. Edwards’s Long-clawed Mouse is nocturnal and terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. At least one Edwards’s Long-clawed Mouse was trapped inside a gallery constructed by the fossorial caviomorph Ctenomys (tuco-tucos).

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

Bibliography. Allen (1905), Andrade (2008), Chebez et al. (2014), D'Elia, Barria & Teta (2016), Martin & Archangelsky (2004), Milne-Edwards (1890), Osgood (1925), Pardinas & Galliari (1998b), Pardinas & Teta (2016), Pardinas, Udrizar et al. (2008), Pearson (1984), Reig (1987), Teta & Pardinas (2015b), Thomas (1929).