A new species of Oxymycterus (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) from the Yungas of Argentina.

Morphological and molecular studies allowed us to recognize a new species of Oxymycterus from the southern end of the Yungas of Argentina. External morphologic traits allow the new species, Oxymycterus wayku, to be differentiated from O. paramensis and O. akodontius, the two currently recognized spe...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Jayat, Pablo J., D Elia, Guillermo, Padriñas, Ulyses F. J., Miotti, Maria Daniela, Ortiz, Pablo
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2008
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/82079
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/82079
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Mammals
Sigmodontinae
Taxonomy
Oxymycterus
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:Morphological and molecular studies allowed us to recognize a new species of Oxymycterus from the southern end of the Yungas of Argentina. External morphologic traits allow the new species, Oxymycterus wayku, to be differentiated from O. paramensis and O. akodontius, the two currently recognized species for northwestern Argentina, as well as from the remaining species of the genus. Those traits include very dark general coloration, ears covered with nearly black hairs, a white spot on the chin, and claws on fore and hind feet long and robust. Cranial characteristics of the new species include wide and relatively shallow zygomatic notches, proportionally short incisive foramina and molar series, and a relatively robust braincase compared to O. paramensis. Phylogenetic analysis based on cytochrome b DNA sequences corroborates the distinctiveness of Oxymycterus wayku n. sp. Observed divergence values support this distinction. This new species is particularly important from a conservation viewpoint due to its rarity and the advanced level of alteration of its habitat.