229.

Musser’s Harvest Mouse

Reithrodontomys musseri

French: Souris-moissonneuse de Musser / German: MusserErntemaus / Spanish: Ratén espiguero de Musser

Taxonomy. Reithrodontomys musseri Gardner & Carleton, 2009, Cerro Asuncion, ca. 11,100 ft (= 3383 m), Cartago, Costa Rica; ca. 09°34°05"N, 83°44’12”W (coordinates define a place along the east side of the Panamerican Highway, just 0-4 km WNW of the peak of Cerro La Asuncion).

The name musseri was assigned to a specimen formerly identified as R. rodriguezi . Reithrodontomys musseri is in subgenus Aporodon. Monotypic.

Distribution. Restricted to the type locality in the Cordillera de Talamanca, C Costa Rica.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 62 mm, tail 99 mm, ear 14 mm, hindfoot 19 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Musser’s Harvest Mouse is among the smallest species of Reithrodontomys . Dorsal pelageis dark (sepia or fuscous) and slightly woolly, fading to paler and brighter color (buffy brown to ocherous) along sides. Venter is whitish pale buff, with gray basal appearance. Tail is longer than head-body length. Dentition is extremely small and delicate.

Habitat. Only known from wet, cloud forest at type locality at an elevation of 3383 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. Given that Musser’s Harvest Mouse is known from only a single specimen,it could be highly endangered.

Bibliography. Gardner & Carleton (2009), Hooper (1952a).