Elegant Rice Rat

''Euryoryzomys nitidus'', also known as the elegant oryzomys or elegant rice rat, is a rodent species in the family Cricetidae. Previously it was known as ''Oryzomys nitidus'', but it is not closely related to ''Oryzomys'' as that genus is now constructed. Its range includes Bolivia, Brazil and Peru to the east of the Andes, in lowland tropical rainforest as well as forest in the eastern foothills of the mountains, at elevations from .

Description

''Euryoryzomys nitidus'' is a medium-sized rice rat with a head-and-body length of about and a similar length tail. The short dense fur on the head and back is tawny or tawny-brown, the sides of the head and flanks being tinged with ochre. The underparts are whitish-grey. The tail is a uniform colour apart from the underside near the tip which is mottled. The upper surfaces of both fore- and hind-feet are clad in white hair, and the nails are hidden by tufts of hair growing between them.

Distribution and habitat

The main population of ''E. nitidus'' is in the Andean foothills of Peru, Bolivia and western Brazil and adjoining lowlands. However outlying individuals have been identified at scattered locations in south-central Brazil, Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. In the upper Amazon basin, this species shares its range with the closely related ''Euryoryzomys macconnelli''.Musser, G.G., Carleton, M.D., Brothers, E.M. and Gardner, A.L. 1998.
Systematic studies of oryzomyine rodents (Muridae: Sigmodontinae): diagnoses and distributions of species formerly assigned to ''Oryzomys "capito"''
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 236:1–376. Its altitudinal range is between about and its typical habitat is tropical and sub-tropical rainforest. It also occurs in secondary forest and seems able to tolerate a considerable amount of habitat degradation. Other places where it has been recovered include primary and secondary dry deciduous forests, riverine gallery forests, savannah with palm trees, swamp forests and the environs of villages, among cropland, pasture and sporting venues. It is also present in the foothills of an isolated massif in Mato Grosso do Sul on the western border of the Pantanal. It is a terrestrial species.

Andes Hantavirus variant

A study of small rodents in Peru found that ''E. nitidus'' is the fourth most frequently caught species, with 35 individuals trapped out of a total of 362 rodents; six of this total harboured a hantavirus variant, IgG, including an adult male ''E. nitidus''. Hantaviruses can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the human population, and although the occurrence of this syndrome is currently low, when it occurs, this zoonotic disease is often fatal.

Status

''E. nitidus'' is a common species with a wide distribution. It is present in a number of protected areas and no particular threats to the species have been identified. For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

References

Literature cited

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q1766518

Euryoryzomys
Rodents of South America
Mammals of Brazil
Mammals of Bolivia
Mammals of Peru
Mammals described in 1884
Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas