|
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 terrestrial to fossorial to semiaquatic habits. They presently exist mainly in South America; three members of the family also range into Central America, and the hutias are found in the West Indies in the Caribbean. Species of the extinct subfamily Heteropsomyinae formerly lived on Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico in the Antilles. Characteristics In general form, most spiny rats resemble rats, although they are more closely related to guinea pigs and chinchillas. Most species have stiff, pointed hairs, or Spine (zoology), spines, that presumably serve for protection from predators. Many echimyids can Autotomy, break off their tails when attacked. This action may confuse predators long enough for the spiny rat to escape. Unlike the tai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heteropsomyinae
Echimyidae is the family of neotropical spiny rats and their fossil relatives. This is the most species-rich family of Hystricognathi, hystricognath rodents. It is probably also the most ecologically diverse, with members ranging from fully arboreal to Terrestrial animal, terrestrial to fossorial to semiaquatic habits. They presently exist mainly in South America; three members of the family also range into Central America, and the hutias are found in the West Indies in the Caribbean. Species of the extinct subfamily Heteropsomyinae formerly lived on Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico in the Antilles. Characteristics In general form, most spiny rats resemble rats, although they are more closely related to guinea pigs and chinchillas. Most species have stiff, pointed hairs, or Spine (zoology), spines, that presumably serve for protection from predators. Many echimyids can Autotomy, break off their tails when attacked. This action may confuse predators long enough for the sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eumysopinae
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 terrestrial to fossorial to semiaquatic habits. They presently exist mainly in South America; three members of the family also range into Central America, and the hutias are found in the West Indies in the Caribbean. Species of the extinct subfamily Heteropsomyinae formerly lived on Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico in the Antilles. Characteristics In general form, most spiny rats resemble rats, although they are more closely related to guinea pigs and chinchillas. Most species have stiff, pointed hairs, or spines, that presumably serve for protection from predators. Many echimyids can break off their tails when attacked. This action may confuse predators long enough for the spiny rat to escape. Unlike the tails of some species of liza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echimyinae
Echimyinae is a subfamily of rodents belonging to the spiny rats family Echimyidae. It contains 14 arboreal genera—all the members of the tribe Echimyini, plus '' Callistomys''—a few terrestrial genera (''Thrichomys'', '' Hoplomys'', and ''Proechimys''), and a subaquatic genus ('' Myocastor''). Systematics The taxonomic content of Echimyinae has been reshaped over time, because of two realizations. The first is a better understanding of the evolution of morphological characters, leading to the recognition that key character states long used to group genera into higher units were demonstrably homoplastic. The second came from the a phylogenetic analysis of molecular sequence data. Phylogeny The subfamily Echimyinae groups most of the spiny rat family's generic diversity into two tribes: Echimyini and Myocastorini Myocastorini is a tribe of echimyid rodents, proposed in 2017, and containing the five extant genera '' Callistomys'', '' Hoplomys'', '' Myocastor'', ''Proech ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Spiny Rat
The Atlantic spiny rats are all found in the genus ''Trinomys''. They are a group of South American spiny-rats in the family Echimyidae. Extant species of ''Trinomys'' Based on Natureserve.InfoNatura: Animals and Ecosystems of Latin America eb application 2007. Version 5.0 . Arlington, Virginia (USA): NatureServe. Available/ref> The species of spiny rats in the genus ''Trinomys'' are apparently all Brazilian. In particular many of them are endemic to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. Not much is known for certain about their ranges however, which still are being investigated, with frequent extensions to the recorded distributions of several species in various ecological classes of forest and dry land. They do not however appear to occur at high altitudes, and several of their ranges appear to be parapatric. Most species of ''Trinomys'' are terrestrial and ambulatory, though ''Trinomys yonenagae'' is unusual that it is semi-fossorial, living in colonial bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carterodontinae
Owl's spiny rat (''Carterodon sulcidens'') is a rodent species in the family Echimyidae found in Brazil. It is the only species in the genus ''Carterodon''. Owl's spiny rat has evolved characteristics such as a heightened ability to dig in open grasslands during times of environmental change.Bezerra, Alexandra & Marinho-Filho, Jader & Carmignotto, Ana. (2011). A review of the distribution, morphology, and habit of the Owl’s Spiny Rat Carterodon sulcidens (Lund, 1841) (Rodentia: Echimyidae). Zoological studies. 50. 566-576. Phylogeny The genus ''Carterodon'' is the sister group to the family Capromyidae (hutias). In turn, this clade shares evolutionary affinities with some genera of spiny rats belonging to the subfamily Euryzygomatomyinae. Analyses of craniodental characters proposed that ''Carterodon'' may be associated with '' Clyomys'' and '' Euryzygomatomys''. However, molecular data suggest the polyphyly A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoplomys Gymnurus2
The armored rat (''Hoplomys gymnurus'') is a species of rodent in the family Echimyidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Hoplomys''. It is found in Latin America, from northern Honduras to northwest Ecuador. It possesses a range of spines on its back and sides of the body. Description Adults weigh between with males weighing more on average than females. They are born with soft fur, and the spines begin growing after the first month. The thick spines on the back and sides measure up to and in diameter. The head and body measures between in length, with the tail adding another . The color of the armored rat range from black to reddish brown, and has a pure white underside. They are similar in appearance to Tome's spiny-rat, but the eyes of the armored rat are smaller and they have a longer snout. Its diet includes fruit, insects and green plant matter. The normal litter size is one to three. Habitat The armored rat is a terrestrial species, which occupies burrows. These bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euryzygomatomyinae
Euryzygomatinae is a subfamily of rodents, proposed in 2017, and containing three extant genera of spiny Echimyidae: '' Clyomys'', '' Euryzygomatomys'', and '' Trinomys''. Members of this echimyid subfamily all share an origin in the eastern part of Brazil, close to the Atlantic Forest. Morpho-anatomy The teeth of Euryzygomatomyines are characterized by several features: * elongate lower and upper incisor roots ; * five lophids on the lower deciduous premolars 4 ; * either four lophids in ''Trinomys'', or three lophids in ''Clyomys'' and ''Euryzygomatomys'', on the lower molars 1 ; * well-connected lophs on the cheek teeth ; * three molar roots anchoring the upper molars. Their zygomatic arch is reduced with a slightly concave dorsal margin, and the jugal bone is ventrally expanded with much reduced, scarcely salient inferior process. Molecular signatures At the protein level, one amino acid replacement from leucine to proline yields a shared derived character state that i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echimys
''Echimys'' is a genus of the spiny rats family, the Echimyidae. Members of this genus are collectively called spiny tree-rats. The genus name ''Echimys'', and also its synonym ''Echinomys'', derive from the two Ancient Greek words (), meaning "hedgehog", and (), meaning "mouse, rat". Classification The genus contains three extant species *White-faced spiny tree-rat - ''Echimys chrysurus'' * Dark spiny tree-rat - ''Echimys saturnus'' * Vieira's spiny tree-rat - ''Echimys vieirai'' Members of the genera '' Callistomys'', '' Makalata'', '' Pattonomys'', and ''Phyllomys ''Phyllomys'' is a genus of arboreal Echimyidae, spiny rat, geographically restricted to the forests of eastern Brazil. The etymology of the genus name derives from the two ancient greek words (), meaning "plant leaf", and (), meaning "mouse, ...'' were all formerly considered part of the genus ''Echimys''. Phylogeny ''Echimys'' is the sister genus to ''Phyllomys'', and then to ''Makalata''. These taxa a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coypu
The nutria () or coypu () (''Myocastor coypus'') is a herbivore, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent from South America. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' has since been included within Echimyidae, the family of the spiny rats. The nutria lives in burrows alongside stretches of water and feeds on river plant stems. Originally native to subtropical and temperate South America, it was introduced to North America, Europe and Asia, primarily by fur farmers. Although it is still hunted and trapped for nutria fur, its fur in some regions, its destructive burrowing and feeding habits often bring it into conflict with humans, and it is considered an invasive species in the United States. Nutria also transmit various diseases to humans and animals, mainly through water contamination. Etymology The genus name ''Myocastor'' derives from the two Ancient Greek words () 'rat, mouse', and () 'beaver'. Therefore, the name ''Myocastor'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capromyinae
Hutias (known in Spanish as jutía) are moderately large cavy-like rodents of the subfamily Capromyinae that inhabit the Caribbean islands. Most species are restricted to Cuba, but species are known from all of the Greater Antilles, as well as The Bahamas and (formerly) Little Swan Island off of Honduras. Twenty species of hutia have been identified, but at least half are extinct. Only Desmarest's hutia and the prehensile-tailed hutia remain common and widespread; all other extant species are considered threatened by the IUCN. The extinct giant hutias of the family Heptaxodontidae also inhabited the Caribbean, but are not thought to be closely related, with the giant hutias belonging in the superfamily Chinchilloidea. Description Most species have a head-and-body length that ranges from and weigh less than , but Desmarest's hutia has a head-and-body length of and weighs . They resemble the coypu in some respects. Tails are present, varying from vestiges to prehensile. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hutia
Hutias (known in Spanish as jutía) are moderately large cavy-like rodents of the subfamily Capromyinae that inhabit the Caribbean islands. Most species are restricted to Cuba, but species are known from all of the Greater Antilles, as well as The Bahamas and (formerly) Little Swan Island off of Honduras. Twenty species of hutia have been identified, but at least half are extinct. Only Desmarest's hutia and the prehensile-tailed hutia remain common and widespread; all other extant species are considered threatened by the IUCN. The extinct giant hutias of the family Heptaxodontidae also inhabited the Caribbean, but are not thought to be closely related, with the giant hutias belonging in the superfamily Chinchilloidea. Description Most species have a head-and-body length that ranges from and weigh less than , but Desmarest's hutia has a head-and-body length of and weighs . They resemble the coypu in some respects. Tails are present, varying from vestiges to pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dactylomys Dactylinus
''For Asian bamboo rats (family: Spalacidae), see Bamboo rat.'' The Amazon bamboo rat (''Dactylomys dactylinus'') is a species of spiny rat from the Amazon Basin of South America.Pearson, David L., and Les Beletsky. Travellers' Wildlife Guides: Peru. Northampton: Interlink. (2008) It is also referred to as coro-coro, Toró, Rato-do-Bambú, or Rata del Bambú in different parts of its range. The bamboo rat prefers to reside in areas of dense vegetation, such as clumps of bamboo or in the canopy. It is an arboreal browser, consuming primarily leaves and spending much of its time off the ground. Because the Amazon bamboo rat spends most of its time in heavily forested areas, it is difficult to observe, and not much is known about its habits. Physical characteristics The Amazon bamboo rat has a body length of over from the nose to the tip of the tail, and weighs approximately . The rat has a stout appearance, olive-grey fur streaked with black, and a tail with short, fine hairs. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
