0693.

Andean Soft-haired Mouse

Abrothrix andina

French: Abrothrix des Andes / German: Eigentliche Andenfeldmaus / Spanish: Raton de pelaje suave de los Andes

Other common names: Andean Akodont, Andean Altiplano Mouse, Andean Grass Mouse

Taxonomy. Mus andinus Philippi, 1858, Altos Andes, Metropolitana de Santiago, Chile.

Abrothrix andina is in the subgenus Angelomys. Its taxonomy remains poorly explored; two subspecies here included need additional substantiation. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

A. i. andinaPhilippi, 1858 — ECChile, fromCoquimbotoSantiagoregions.

A. i. dolichonyx Philippi, 1896 — S Peru, N Chile, W Bolivia, and NW & CW Argentina .

Descriptive notes. Head-body 66-91 mm, tail 48-66 mm, ear 13-14 mm, hindfoot 18-21 mm; weight 12-17 g. See general characters of the genus under the Long-haired Soft-haired Mouse (A. longipilis) account. The Andean Soft-haired Mouse is highly variable geographically. It is a small species of Abrothrix, with soft and long hair. Pelage is mainly light buffy, without countershading but with distinct whitish post-auricular patches. Lips and chin are whitish. Nails are very long (longest front claw 2-5 mm), and covered by strong hairs like bristles. Tail is bicolored, and tips of hairs are light buffy. Skull is delicate, with short and narrow rostrum, rounded braincase, and moderately extended nasals and premaxillae; tympanic bullae are relatively large and rounded. Baculum has minute apical digits.

Habitat. Typically high-elevation grasslands, Puna, dense patches of Lepidophyllum (Asteraceae), sparse and low-stature bunchgrass, shrubby habitats, and rocky slopes at elevations of 950-5000 m.

Food and Feeding. Foods of the Andean Soft-haired Mouse vary seasonally and include parts of plants (mainly Acaena magellanica, Rosaceae; and Hordeum chilense, Poaceae), arthropods, seeds. Insectivory increases in highland populations.

Breeding. In Argentina, males with scrotal testes were trapped in January, and lactating females were caught in March. In Peru, a female with six embryos was caught in March.

Activity patterns. The Andean Soft-haired Mouse is terrestrial and nocturnal or diurnal, depending season and geography. In Argentina, it is diurnal in summer. It can dig and constructs a system of galleries c¢.5 cm deep in soil.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCNRed List (as A. andinus).

Bibliography. Anderson (1997), Bozinovic, Novoa & Veloso (1990), Bozinovic, Veloso & Rosenmann (1988), Contreras & Rosi (1981b), Cortés et al. (1995), Ferro & Barquez (2008), Lopez-Cortés et al. (2007), Mann (1978), Mares, Ojeda, Braun & Barquez (1997), Mares, Ojeda & Kosco (1981), Munoz-Pedreros (2000), Musser & Carleton (2005), Ojeda & Mares (1989), Osgood (1943a), Palma, Marquet & Boric-Bargetto (2005), Pardifas & D’Elia (2016a), Patterson et al. (2015), Pearson (1951a), Redford & Eisenberg (1992), Reig (1989), Scrocchi et al. (1986), Silva (2005), Spotorno (1986, 1992).