354.

Ecuadorean Grass Mouse

Neomicroxus latebricola

French: Souris-d'alpage d'Equateur / German: Ekuador-Grasmaus / Spanish: Raton de hierba de Ecuador

Other common names: Ecuadorean Akodont

Taxonomy. Microxus latebricola Anthony, 1924, “Hacienda San Francisco, east of Ambato, on Rio Cusutagua, elevation about 8000 feet [= 2438 m], Ecuador.”

Neomicroxus latebricola is the type species of the genus. Monotypic.

Distribution. NW & E Andes in NC Ecuador.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 74-103 mm, tail 60-98 mm, ear 13-19 mm, hindfoot 19-23 mm; weight 15-19 g. The Ecuadorean Grass Mouse is externally very similar to the Bogota Grass Mouse (N. bogotensus), although darker overall, with dorsal pelage grizzled dark chestnut brown, somewhat paler underneath, and without visible lateral line separating dorsal and ventral colors. Dorsal surfaces of forefeet and hindfeet are dark brown, covered by gray hairs and with relatively reduced light gray ungualtufts covering but not surpassing claws. Tail length is about the same as head-body length, dark like feet above (almost black), somewhat lighter below, and scattered hairs with silvery appearance. Vibrissae are short, not extending beyond pinnae when laid back.

Habitat. High Andean habitats, including subalpine forests and paramo at elevations above 3000 m. The Ecuadorean Grass Mouse is abundant in interiors of Polylepis (Rosaceae) forests. It prefers primary and secondary forests.

Food and Feeding. The Ecuadorean Grass Mouse is omnivorous.

Breeding. Reproductive activity of the Ecuadorean Grass Mouseis highest in the rainy season and lowest in the dry season.

Activity patterns. The Ecuadorean Grass Mouse is terrestrial and not strictly nocturnal; several individuals were captured in broad daylight, between the time when traps were checked just after dawn and when they were rebaited in the late afternoon.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Ecuadorean Grass Mouse is solitary. It lives in small galleries under logs, rocks, and vegetation.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The [UCN Red List. The Ecuadorean Grass Mouse occurs in less than 20,000 km? and is known from fewer than ten locations. Area and quality ofits habitat continue to decline.

Bibliography. Alvarado-Serrano & D'Elia (2013, 2015), Anthony (1924b), Boada et al. (2016), Brito, Teska & Ojala-Barbour (2015), Voss (2003).