440.

Moojen’s Pygmy Rice Rat

Oligoryzomys moojeni

French: Colilargo de Moojen / German: Moojen-Zwergreisratte / Spanish: Rata arrocera pigmea de Moojen

Other common names: Moojen’s Colilargo

Taxonomy. Oligoryzomys moojeni Weksler & Bonvicino, 2005, Fazenda Fiandeira in ‘Morro do Chapéu’ region, in the lowest part of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, 65 km SSW Cavalcante, Goias, Brazil.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Tocantins and Goias states, C Brazil.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 84-— 96 mm,tail 112-132 mm, ear 13-17 mm, hindfoot 21-25 mm; weight 10-25 g. Adult dorsal pelage of Moojen’s Pygmy Rice Rat is grizzled reddish brown to yellowish brown, composed of long and woolly guard hairs and slightly shorter overhairs with subapical yellowish brown or reddish brown bands. Sides are lighter than dorsum and without defined delineation with creamy venter. Ventral hairs are creamy at upper one-half and gray at their basal one-half. Ventral regions of neck and limbs have entirely cream hairs. Inner sides of pinnae have reddish brown hairs. Dorsal surfaces of feet are covered with lighter hairs, and tufts of longer silvery hairs occur at bases of pedal claws. Tail is slightly bicolored, dark gray above and light gray below. In juveniles, dorsum is reddish brown to dark brownish gray, venter and sides are gray, and hairs on ventral surfaces of neck and limbs have light gray bases. There are eight mammae in inguinal, abdominal, postaxial, and pectoral pairs.

Habitat. Open cerrado vegetation formations, such as grassland savannas, savanna woodlands, and open gallery forest mixed with bamboo tree patches.

Food and Feeding. Moojen’s Pygmy Rice Rat is a generalist with preference forfruits, seeds, and insects, depending on availabilities.

Breeding. Pregnant Moojen’s Pygmy Rice Rats were reported in dry season (August), each with three embryos.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Moojen’s Pygmy Rice Rat was not included in the official list of threatened species in Brazil, and it occurs in at least two conservation units. Nevertheless, some studies considered it rare compared with sympatric species of Oligoryzomys .

Bibliography. Agrellos et al. (2012), Carmignotto & Aires (2011), Carmignotto et al. (2012), Gomes etal. (2015), Gutiérrez & Marinho-Filho (2017), Mares, Braun & Gettinger (1989), Marinho-Filho et al. (2002), da Silva (2010), Talamoni et al. (2014), Trott et al. (2007), Weksler & Bonvicino (2005, 2008a, 2015b).