542.

Roraima Mouse

Podoxymys roraimae

French: Akodon du Roraima / German: Roraima-Maus / Spanish: Raton de Roraima

Other common names: Roraima Akodont

Taxonomy. Podoxymys roraimae Anthony, 1929, “summit of Mt. Roraima, British Guiana [= Guyana], altitude 8600 feet [= 2621 m].”

Podoxymys roraimaeis the type species of the genus. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality and its vicinities in W Guyana and adjacent SE Venezuela and N Brazil.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 72-102 mm, tail 783-102 mm, car 15-4- 14 mm, hindfoot 21-24 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Roraima Mouse is small akodont-like blackish sigmodontine, with minute eyes and hispid appearance, easily distinguishable from sympatric species of Akodon by its noticeably longer and more slender claws (particularly on hands), distinctly longer and softer pelage, and proportionally longer tail. Fur is long and lax (hairs on back 10-11 mm long), dorsally blackish slate at base and for most of the length of the hair, with only tip colored;sides of head and underparts are slightly lighter in tone than back. Dorsal surfaces of manus and pes are clove-brown. Tail is ¢.50% of head-body length, very sparsely haired, and unicolored brown. Ears are partially hidden in long pelage. Claws of forefeet are long (on third digit 3 mm beyond fleshy tip of digit), slender, strongly compressed laterally, and moderately curved; those of hindfeet are slightly shorter. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 16, FN = 26.

Habitat. Original series from an area dominated by the small tree Bonnetia roraimae (Clusiaceae), now highly altered due to wood extraction and tourism; an additional specimen was obtained in a carpet of Sphagum moss in which there were various small cavities; and a recently obtained Roraima Mouse was collected in a campsite area with tepui scrub and high tepui meadow at an elevation of 2216 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Roraima Mouse is terrestrial. Some degree of fossorial adaptation can be presumed from morphological traits including enlarged claws, minute eyes, and pointed rostrum. Little is known on daily activity, but at least one individual was collected during morning.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Roraima Mouse has a very restricted area of occupancy and is known from only two very close localities.

Bibliography. Anthony (1929), Hinojosa et al. (1987), Leite et al. (2015), Linares (1998), Paglia et al. (2012), Pardinas & Teta (2015b), Patton & Catzeflis (2008b), Pérez-Zapata et al. (1992), Tate (1939).