The Magdalena spiny rat (''Proechimys magdalenae'') is a species of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...
in the family
Echimyidae
Echimyidae is the family of neotropical spiny rats and their fossil relatives. This is the most species-rich family of hystricognath rodents. It is probably also the most ecologically diverse, with members ranging from fully arboreal to terr ...
.
It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
.
Phylogeny
Morphological characters and mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA sequences showed that ''P. magdalenae'' belongs to the so-called ''trinitatus'' group of ''Proechimys'' species, and shares closer phylogenetic affinities with the other members of this clade: ''
P. trinitatus'', ''
P. mincae'', ''
P. guairae'', ''
P. poliopus'', ''
P. chrysaeolus'', ''
P. urichi'', and ''
P. hoplomyoides''.
References
Proechimys
Endemic fauna of Colombia
Mammals of Colombia
Mammals described in 1948
Taxa named by Philip Hershkovitz
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN
{{Echimyidae-stub