Tag Archives: Cricetidae

Tylomys tumbalensis Merriam

Tumbala Climbing Rat (Tylomys tumbalensis)  

The Tumbala Climbing Rat was described in 1901; it is known from a single specimen that was collected from the tropical forest that formerly covered the area that today is occupied by the town of Tumbalá in Chiapas, Mexico.

The locality is now more or less completely deforested, thus the species’ habitat is lost, making the survival of the The Tumbala Climbing Rat highly improbable, it is very likely extinct.

***

The closest relative of the Tumbala Climbing Rat is Peter’s Climbing Rat (Tylomus nudicaudus (Peters)) that is quite widespread and is found in most of Central America, it is depicted below.

*********************

Peter’s Climbing Rat (Tylomus nudicaudus)

Photo: Daniel Dorantes
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/danieldorantes7
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

*********************

edited: 19.02.2024

Neotoma insularis Townsend

Island Woodrat (Neotoma insularis)

The Island Woodrat was described in 1912, it was restricted to the Isla Ángel del la Guardia in the Gulf of California, Mexico.The species reached a length of 29 cm (including the tail).

The Island Woodrat is officially considered ‘Critically Endangered’ but is in fact almost certainly completely extinct.

***

syn. Neotoma lepida ssp. insularis Townsend

*********************

edited: 08.01.2024

Peromyscus mekisturus Merriam

Puebla Deermouse (Peromyscus mekisturus)

The Puebla Deermouse was described in 1898, it is known only from two specimens which were collected at the cities of Ciudad Serdán and Tehuacan in southeastern Puebla, Mexico.

The species was last seen around 1948, the places where it was found are now heavily degraded by agricultural conversion and it is believed to be extinct.

*********************

edited: 23.01.2020

Megalomys sp. ‘La Desirade’

La Desirade Rice Rat (Megalomys sp.)

This species is known from subfossil remains that were recovered from archaeological sites on the small island of La Desirade off the northeast coast of Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles.

The remains were dated to about 600 to 1400 AD.. [1][2]

*********************

References:

[1] S. T. Turvey: Holocene Extinctions. Oxford University Press, USA 2009
[2] Myriam Boudadi-Maligne; Salvador Bailon; Corentin Bochaton; Fabrice Casagrande; Sandrine Grouard; Nathalie Serrand; Arnaud Lenoble: Evidence for historical human-induced extinctions of vertebrate specieson La Désirade (French West Indies). Quaternary Research 85: 54-65. 2016

*********************

edited: 17.02.2020

Nesoryzomys sp. ‘1 Isla Isabela’

Isabela Rice Rat (Nesoryzomys sp.)

This is one of two species of rice rats that formerly were endemic to the Isla Isabela in the Galápagos Islands, it disappeared sometimes during the middle of the 19th to the early 20th century.

*********************  

edited: 11.06.2020

Cricetidae gen. & sp. ‘St. Martin’

St. Martin Rice Rat (Cricetidae gen. & sp.)

The St. Martin Rice Rat is known from subfossil remains that were recovered from an archaeological site named Hope Estate on the island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles. 

The species survived into the Holocene, most likely even well into the 19th century. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Elizabeth Reitz; C. Margaret Scarry; Sylvia J. Scudder: Case Studies in Environmental Archaeology (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology). Springer; Second Edition 2007

*********************

edited: 17.02.2020

Melanomys zunigae (Sanborn)

Zuniga’s Dark Rice Rat (Melanomys zunigae)

Zuniga’s Dark Rice Rat is, or maybe was, restricted to a small area near the coast of the Lima Province in Peru.

The species reaches a length of 20 to 24 cm, including the tail.

The original habitat this species was adapted to is now highly overgrazed by introduced goats and the rat might already be extinct.

*********************

edited: 29.04.2021

Peromyscus pembertoni Burt

Pemberton’s Deermouse (Peromyscus pembertoni)

Pemberton’s Deermouse was restricted to the Isla San Pedro Nolasco in the Culf of California, Baja California, Mexico.

The species reached a legth of about 21 cm (including the tail), its fur was cinnamon-colored and flecked with some fine darker lines the head was slightly ligther colored and the belly was white.

Pemberton’s Deermouse was described in 1932 based on 12 specimens that had been collected on December 26, 1931 by Dr. William Hendy Burt of the California Institute of Technology, it was never found again. 

*********************

edited: 23.01.2020

Peromyscus guardia ssp. mejiae Burt

Mejia Island Deermouse (Peromyscus guardia ssp. mejiae)

The Mejia Island Deermouse, described in 1932, was a subspecies of the Guarda Deermouse (Peromyscus guardia Townsend) and was endemic to the tiny Isla Mejía in the Gulf of California, Baja California, Mexico.

This mouse was last recorded in 1973 but disappeared sometimes after that date due to predation by introduced cats and competition by likewise introduced mice and rats. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Erik Mellink; Gerardo Ceballos; Jaime Luévano: Population demise and extinction threat of the Angel de la Guarda deer mouse (Peromyscus guardia) Biological Conservation 108: 107-111. 2007

*********************

edited: 23.01.2020

Megalomys sp. ‘Grenada’

Grenada Giant Rice Rat (Megalomys sp.)

This species is known from subfossil remains that were excavated on the island of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles.

The species was formerly just named as Cricetidae gen. & sp. ‘Grenada’, it was finally formally described in 2021.[1]

*********************

References:

[1] Brittany A. Mistretta; Christina M. Giovas; Marcelo Weksler; Samuel T. Turvey: Extinct insular oryzomyine rice rats (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) from the Grenada Bank, southern Caribbean. Zootaxa 4951(3): 434-460. 2021

*********************

edited: 12.04.2021

Oryzomys antillarum Thomas

Jamaican Rice Rat (Oryzomys antillarum)

The Jamaican Rice Rat was described in 1898; it was restricted to the island of Jamaica.

The species reached a size of about 26 cm (including the tail); it was furthermore described as: “Color. Above rufous sparsely lined with black, brightest on the rump; head suffused with grayish; under parts yellowish, hairs gray at base; tail pale brown above, lighter beneath; hands and feet whitish; ears blackish outside, yellowish inside.“. [1]

In 1872, Small Indian Mongooses (Urva auropunctata (Hodgson)) had been imported to Jamaica to control the likewise introduced rats in the sugarcane plantations; the mongooses, however, were also very effective in eradicating the native rodents. Feral cats and dogs certainly played their part too and finally, in 1877, the Jamaican Rice Rats were seen for the last time.

*********************

References:

[1] Daniel Giraud Elliot: The Land and Sea Mammals of Middle America and the West Indies. Publication of the field Columbian Museum, Zoological Series 4(1). 1904

*********************

Photo from: ”Clayton E. Ray: The Oryzomyine Rodents of the Antillean Subregion. Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Harvard University, 2111 pp. 1962′

(Public domain)

*********************

edited: 29.04.2022

Nesoryzomys darwini Osgood

Darwin’s Galapagos Mouse (Nesoryzomys darwini)  

Darwin’s Galapagos Mouse was described in 1929; it was endemic to the Isla Santa Cruz in the Galápagos archipelago.

It reached lengths of about 22 cm, including the tail; it was predominantly cinnamon rufous colored, the upper parts with a mixture of blackish hairs, the tail was dusky above and whitish below. [1]

Darwin’s Galapagos Mouse was last seen in 1930; the species disappeared shortly after, perhaps due to the introduction of Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout)), Black Rats (Rattus rattus (L.)), and feral cats.

*********************  

References:  

[1] Wilfred H. Osgood: A new rodent from the Galapagos Islands. Field Museum of Natural History 17(2): 21-24. 1929

*********************  

edited: 01.06.2021

Cricetidae gen. & sp. ‘Saba’

Saba Rice Rat (Cricetidae gen. & sp.)

The Saba Rice Rat is known from subfossil remains that were recovered from an archaeological site named Kelbey’s Ridge on the small island of Saba in the Caribbean Netherlands.

The remains of this species were dated to about 1290 to 1400 AD.. [1][2]

*********************

References:

[1] Elizabeth Reitz; C. Margaret Scarry; Sylvia J. Scudder: Case Studies in Environmental Archaeology (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology). Springer; Second Edition 2007
[2] S. T. Turvey: Holocene Extinctions. Oxford University Press, USA 2009

*********************

edited: 17.02.2020

Nesoryzomys indefessus (Thomas)

Santa Cruz Rice Rat (Nesoryzomys indefessus)  

The Santa Cruz Rice Rat was described in 1899, it was restricted to the Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands.

The species disappeared soon after its description due to the introduction of Black Rats (Rattus rattus (L.)) and feral cats.

***

The Fernandina Rice Rat (Nesorhyzomys narboroughi Heller), one of only four Galápagos Islands rice rat species surviving until today, was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Santa Cruz Rice Rat.

*********************  

edited: 11.06.2020

Cricetidae gen. & sp. ‘ Bonaire’

Bonaire Rice Rat (Cricetidae gen. & sp.)

This species is known from subfossil material that was found on the island of Bonaire offshore the northern coast of Venezuela, and that was dated to Late Holocene age. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] S. T. Turvey: Holocene Extinctions. Oxford University Press, USA 2009

*********************

edited: 17.02.2020

Neotoma bryanti ssp. martinensis Goldman

San Martin Island Woodrat (Neotoma bryanti ssp. martinensis)

The San Martín Island Woodrat was restricted to the Isla San Martín offshore the coast of Baja California Norte, Mexico.

Like its close relative, the Anthony’s Woodrat (Neotoma bryanti ssp. anthonyi J. A. Allen) on the Isla Todos Santos, this form was extirpated by feral cats that had been introduced to the island.

***

syn. Neotoma martinensis Goldman

*********************

Bryant’s Woodrat; nominate form

Photo: Douglas J. Long
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/douglasriverside
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

*********************

edited: 08.01.2024

Peromyscus gossypinus ssp. restrictus A. H. Howell

Chadwick Beach Cotton Deermouse (Peromyscus gossypinus ssp. restrictus)

The Chadwick Beach Cotton Deermouse was a subspecies of the Cotton Deermouse (Peromyscus gossypinus (Le Conte)) that was restricted to a small area along the coast of southwestern Sarasota County in Florida, USA.

The subspecies was described in 1939, apparently from specimens collected one year earlier, it was never found again and is now thought to be extinct.

*********************

edited: 23.01.2020

Aegialomys galapagoensis ssp. galapagoensis (Waterhouse)

Galapagos Rice Rat (Aegialomys galapagoensis ssp. galapagoensis)  

In 1835, when Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands, he found a native mouse inhabiting Chatham Island [Isla San Cristóbal] and supposed it to be the only indigenous mammal of the islands. This species was described as Mus galapagoensis by Waterhouse … who adds Darwin’s notation as follows: “This mouse or rat is abundant in Chatham Island. I could not find it on any other island of the group.” From this it is evident that Darwin made an effort to obtain further rodents, but his narrative seems to indicate that he did not spend any time on Narborough and Indefatigable islands, the principal ones from which specimens have been taken subsequently.” [1]

The Galapagos Rice Rat is one of several virtually unknown endemic rodent species that inhabit, or inhabited, the Galápagos Islands.

This species, which might include two subspecies, is known from at least two, maybe three, of the islands, with Isla San Cristóbal having been inhabited by the nominate, which was endemic to that island.

This form was apparently last collected in 1855 by Charles Darwin himself during the second voyage of HMS Beagle, it must have gone extinct only some decades later and all subsequent findings were of subfossil remains only. 

*********************

References:  

[1] Wilfred H. Osgood: A new rodent from the Galapagos Islands. Field Museum of Natural History 17(2): 21-24. 1929

*********************  

Depiction from: ‘John Gould: The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Captain Fitzroy, during the years 1832-1836. Part III, Birds. London, Smith, Elder & Co. 1838’ 

(public domain)

*********************

edited: 01.06.2021

Megaoryzomys sp. ‘Isla Isabela’

Isabela Giant Rice Rat (Megaoryzomys sp.)  

This is an up to date undescribed and thus unnamed species that is known exclusively from subfossil remains that had been found on Isla Isabele, Galápagos Islands. [1]

***

The Isabela sp. is apparently sometimes considered conspecific with the Galapagos Giant Rice Rat (Megaoryzomys curioi (Niethammer)) from the Isla Santa Cruz, another extinct rice rat species known only from subfossil remains.

*********************  

References:  

[1] Gustavo Jiménez-Uzcátegui; Bryan Milstead; Cruz Márquez; Javier Zabala; Paola Buitrón; Alizon Llerena; Sandie Salazar; Birgit Fessl: Galapagos vertebrates: endangered status and conservation actions. Galapagos Report 2006-2007

*********************  

edited: 11.06.2020

Megalomys sp. ‘Marie Galante’

Marie Galante Giant Rice Rat (Megalomys sp.)

This species is up to now undescribed, it is known from subfossil remains that had been found on the island of Marie Galante offshore Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Alexandra van der Geer; George Lyras; John de Vos; Michael Dermitzakis: Evolution of Island Mammals: Adaptation and Extinction of Placental Mammals on Islands. Wiley-Blackwell 2010

*********************

edited: 17.02.2020

Megalomys sp. ‘Guadeloupe’

Guadeloupe Giant Rice Rat (Megalomys sp.)

This form, which hitherto has not been described, is known from subfossil material that was found on the island of Guadelopue in the Lesser Antilles. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Alexandra van der Geer; George Lyras; John de Vos; Michael Dermitzakis: Evolution of Island Mammals: Adaptation and Extinction of Placental Mammals on Islands. Wiley-Blackwell 2010

*********************

edited: 17.02.2020

Cricetidae gen. & sp. A ‘Montserrat’

Large Montserrat Rice Rat (Cricetidae gen. & sp. A)

The Large Montserrat Rice Rat is an up to day undescribed species whose subfossil remains were found at an unnamed archaeological site on the island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles.

The species was sympatric with another closely related, yet smaller species which is likewise only known from subfossil remains. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Gregory K. Pregill; David W. Steadman; David R. Watters: Late Quaternary vertebrate faunas of the Lesser Antilles: historical components of Caribbean biogeography. Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History 30: 1-51. 1994

*********************

edited: 17.02.2020

Peromyscus nesodytes Wilson

Giant Island Deermouse (Peromyscus nesodytes)

The Giant Island Deermouse was described in 1936 based on subfossil remains, the species was restricted to San Miguel – and Santa Rosa Islands, two of the Channel Islands offshore southwestern California, USA.

The species is believed to have disappeared sometimes between 2000 years ago and 1860, probably due to the accidental introduction of the North American Deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner)) by the Chumash, the native people of that region. 

*********************

edited: 23.01.2020

Microtus henseli (F. Major)

Tyrrhenian Vole (Microtus henseli)

The Tyrrhenian Vole was described in 1905 based on subfossil remains that had been recovered from cave deposits, the species is known from Corsica as well as from nearby Sardinia.

The species is thought to have survived until about 2000 BCE, and to have disappeared due to the predation by introduced dogs, foxes and weasels.  

*********************

edited: 04.05.2019

Peromyscus maniculatus ssp. cineritius

Roque Deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus ssp. cineritius)

This subspecies of the North American Deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner)) was endemic to the Isla San Roque in the Baja California, Mexico.

The island population disappeared due to the introduction of cats, which not only preyed upon the mice but also largely destroyed the seabird colonies.

***

This subspecies is not accepted by all zoologists.

*********************

edited: 23.01.2020

Megalomys luciae (Major)

Saint Lucia Giant Rice Rat (Megalomys luciae)

The Saint Lucia Giant Rice Rat, also known as Saint Lucia Pilorie, was a very large rodent that formerly was restricted to the island of Saint Lucia in the Lesser Antilles.

The species was the second largest rice rat of the Caribbean, it almost reached the size of a cat.

The Saint Lucia Giant Rice Rat dissapeared in the latter half of the 19th century, it was last recorded in 1881, the reasons are the same as in all the other extinct Caribbean rice rat species.

*********************

Photo: Vassil

(public domain)

*********************

edited: 17.02.2020

Noronhomys vespuccii Carleton & Olson

Fernando de Noronha Rat (Noronhomys vespuccii

When Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian merchant, explorer, and navigator that lived from 1451 to 1512 and

from whose name the term “America” is derived, set foot on the island of Fernando de Noronha in 1503, he reported of: “marine and land birds without number” and also “very large rats.” [1]

This rat species had not been properly identified until subfossil remains were found abundantly in the 1970s.:

The most frequently encountered fossils were those of a large rodent of the family Cricetidae, very different from the recent remains of the introduced rats (Rattus), which were also encountered on the dunes. This cricetid is almost certainly the rat mentioned by Vespucci. It is a new species, and possibly a new genus in the subfamily Sigmodontinae.” [1]

The species was finally described in 1999; it very likely died out very soon after the discovery of the island accompanied by the accidental introduction of rats. [2]

*********************

References:

[1] S. L. Olson: Natural history of vertebrates on the Brazilian islands of the mid South Atlantic. National Geographic Society Research Reports 13: 481-492. 1981
[2] Michael D. Carleton; Storrs L. Olson: Amerigo Vespucci and the rat of Fernando de Noronha: a new genus and species of Rodentia (Muridae, Sigmodontinae) from a volcanic island off Brazil’s continental shelf. American Museum Novitates 3256: 1-59. 1999

*********************

edited: 03.05.2022

Peromyscus guardia ssp. guardia Townsend

La Guarda Deermouse (Peromyscus guardia ssp. guardia)

The La Guarda Deermouse, also known as Angel Island Mouse, was described in 1912, the species is restricted to the Isla Ángel de la Guarda and several of the nearby smaller islets in the Gulf of California, Baja California, Mexico.

The nominate form inhabited the largest of the islands, Isla Ángel de la Guarda.

The La Guarda Deermouse with all its subspecies is now considered extinct, it fell victim to predation by introduced feral cats as well as competition by likewise introduced House Mice (Mus musculus L.), which now are found all over these islands.

*********************

edited: 23.01.2020

Megalomys georginae Turvey, Brace & Weksler

Georgina’s Barbados Rice Rat (Megalomys georginae)

Georgina’s Barbados Rice Rat was described in 2012 based on subfossil remains that had been recovered from an Amerindian archaeological site on the island of Barbados in the Lesser Antilles.

The species was one of the smallest forms in its genus. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Samuel T. Turvey; Selina Brace; Marcelo Weksler: A new species of recently extinct rice rat (Megalomys) from Barbados. Mammalian Biology 77: 404-413. 2012

*********************

edited: 17.02.2020

Peromyscus polionotus ssp. decoloratus A. H. Howell

Pallid Beach Deermouse (Peromyscus polionotus ssp. decoloratus)

The Pallid Beach Deermouse was a subspecies of the Oldfield Deermouse (Peromyscus polionotus (Wagner)) that inhabited a small area of coastal sand dunes along the Atlantic coast of Florida, USA.

This form was quite abundant when it was described in 1939, however the populationds disappeared subsequently and no individual was found ever since, thus this subspecies is now redarded as being extinct.

*********************

edited: 23.01.2020

Peromyscus guardia ssp. harbisoni Banks

Granito Deermouse (Peromyscus guardia ssp. harbisoni)

The Granito Deermouse, described in 1967, was a subspecies of the Guarda Deermouse (Peromyscus guardia Townsend) and was restricted to the small Isla Granito in the Gulf of California, Baja California, Mexico.

The whole species, including its three named and one unnamed subspecies, is now extinct.

*********************

edited: 23.01.2020

Oligoryzomys victus (Thomas)

St. Vincent Pygmy Rice Rat (Oligoryzomys victus)

Described in 1898, this species is known from a single specimen that was found some years prior at an unspecified location on the island of Saint Vincent in the Caribbean.

The sole specimen has a length of 21,7 cm (including the tail); the body is dark reddish above and buffy white below, the ears are short and brown, the tail is almost hairless, brown above and slightly paler below.

The St. Vincent Pygmy Rice Rat apparently disappeared after the introduction of mongooses (Urva sp.) to the island.

***

Some biologists suggest that the St. Vincent Pygmy Rice Rat wasn’t even native to the Caribbean but that it might have been accidentally imported from somewhere on the South American mainland by pre-Columbian Amerindians. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Samuel T. Turvey; Marcelo Weksler; Elaine L. Morris; Mark Nokkert: Taxonomy, phylogeny, and diversity of the extinct Lesser Antillean rice rats (Sigmodontinae: Oryzomyini), with description of a new genus and species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 160(4): 748-772. 2010

*********************

edited: 17.08.2022

Cricetidae gen. & sp. ‘Carriacou’

Carriacou Rice Rat (Cricetidae gen. & sp.)

This undescribed small taxon is known on the basis of subfossil remains that were found in archaeological deposits on the island of Carriacou north of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles.

The remains may belong to an island endemic species or perhaps to the so called St. Vincent Pygmy Rice Rat (Oligoryzomys victus (Thomas)), a species that apparently was accidentally transported from somewhere on the South American mainland to the Antillean islands by pre-Columbian Amerindians. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Samuel T. Turvey; Marcelo Weksler; Elaine L. Morris; Mark Nokkert: Taxonomy, phylogeny, and diversity of the extinct Lesser Antillean rice rats (Sigmodontinae: Oryzomyini), with description of a new genus and species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 160(4): 748-772. 2010 

*********************

edited: 02.12.2018

Megalomys sp. ‘Barbuda’

Barbuda Rice Rat (Megalomys sp.)

This species is known from subfossil remains, which originally were not assigned to any known genus.

The Barbuda Rice Rat was endemic to the island of Barbuda, Antigua and Barbuda, in the Lesser Antilles, it was sympatric with another species of the same genus, the Barbuda Giant Rice Rat (Megalomys audreyae Hopwood). [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Gregory K. Pregill; David W. Steadman; David R. Watters: Late Quaternary vertebrate faunas of the Lesser Antilles: historical components of Caribbean biogeography. Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History 30: 1-51. 1994

*********************

edited: 17.02.2020

Microtus melitensis (Bate)

Maltese Vole (Microtus melitensis)

The Maltese Vole was described in 1920 based on remains that had been excavated in the Ghar Dalam Cave in southwestern Malta, from deposits that have been dated to an age of about 18000 BCE, which means that this is actually a Pleistocene species.

The author of the species compared it with the Tyrrhenian Vole (Microtus henseli (F. Major)), another extinct Mediterranean vole species, from which the Maltese species is said to have differed by its smaller size. [1]

***

The Maltese Vole is often thought to have survived into the Holocene era, as have other closely related forms from other Mediterranean islands, it is thus mentioned here as well.

*********************

References: 

[1] Dorothea M. A. Bate: Note on a new vole and other remains from the Ghar Dalam Cavern, Malta. Geological Magazine 57(5): 208-211. 1920

*********************

edited: 04.05.2019

Peromyscus slevini Mailliard

Slevin’s Deermouse (Peromyscus slevini)

Slevin’s Deermouse was described in 1924, the species is, or most likely was, endemic to Isla Santa Catalina, southern Baja California, Mexico.

The species reached a size of about 21 cm (including the tail), it was formerly very abundant and, in contrast to mainland species of its genus, was even found out in the daytime.

Slevin’s Deermouse was not found in recent surveys, when several deermouse individuals were caught, which again were later identified as belonging to another species, Cactus Deermouse (Peromyscus eremicus (Baird)) which apparently had been accidentally introduced to the island by fishermen sometimes prior. [1]

The endemic deermice of Isla Santa Catalina are now almost certainly extinct.

*********************

References:

[1] Sergio Ticul Alvarez-Castañeda; Patricia Cortés-Calva: Mammalian Species 705: 1-2. 2002

*********************

edited: 23.01.2020

Sigmodon arizonae ssp. arizonae Mearns

Arizona Cotton Rat (Sigmodon arizonae ssp. arizonae)

The Arizona Cotton Rat was described in 1890, the species contains five subspecies of which one, the nominate race, is considered extinct.

The nominate race was endemic to the Mogollon Plateau, a pine-covered section of the large Colorado Plateau in east-central Arizona, USA, where it was last seen in 1932. It disappeared not at least due to predation by feral cats.

*********************

Cienega Cotton Rat (Sigmodon arizonae ssp. cienegae Howell); another subspecies of the Arizona Cotton Rat

Photo: Alan Schmierer

(under creative commons license (1.0))
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en

*********************

edited: 24.04.2019

Pennatomys nivalis Turvey, Weksler, Morris & Nokkert

Nevis Rice Rat (Pennatomys nivalis)  

The Nevis Rice Rat was described in 2010 based on subfossil remains found in Amerindian archaeological sites that date from about 790 B.C. to 1200 A.D..  

The rat inhabited the islands of Nevis and St. Kitts, Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as the nearby Sint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands, which together formed a single larger island during Quaternary low sea-level stands. [2]  

***

The Nevis Rat may in fact have survived until the 20th century because there are several reports from the early 18th up to the early 20th century of rats being eaten on Nevis and St. Kitts, some of the rats recorded as unusual-looking, so that they may well represent this species, yet this can possibly never be proved.  

In a report by Reverend William Smith from 1720 it can be read.:  

… others will wrap up Cane Rats, in Banano-Leaves, and roast them in Wood Embers.” [1]  

***

Nevis Island is now overrun by introduced predatory mongooses and rats. [2]  

*********************  

References:  

[1] William Smith, Revd. Mr.: A natural history of Nevis and the rest of the English Leeward Charibee Islands in America: with many other observations on nature and art, particularly an introduction to the art of decyphering. Cambridge: printed by J. Bentham 1745 
[2] S. T. Turvey; M. Weksler; E. L. Morris; M. Nokkert: Taxonomy, phylogeny and diversity of the extinct Lesser Antillean rice rats (Sigmodontinae: Oryzomyini), with description of a new genus and species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 160(4): 784-772. 2010

*********************  

edited: 17.02.2020