Valdivian Long-clawed Molemouse imported from iNaturalist photo 388310515 on 14 August 2024

''Geoxus valdivianus'', also known as the long-clawed mole mouse or Valdivian long-clawed akodont, 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 tribe

Abrotrichini Abrotrichini, also known as the Andean clade or southern Andean clade,Musser and Carleton, 2005, p. 1087 is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae.D'Elía et al., 2007, p. 188 It includes about fifteen species in four genera, ...

of family

Cricetidae The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice. At over 870 species, it is either the largest or second-largest family ...

found in the

Valdivian temperate rain forest The Valdivian temperate forests (NT0404) is an ecoregion on the west coast of southern South America, in Chile and Argentina. It is part of the Neotropical realm. The forests are named after the city of Valdivia. The Valdivian temperate rainfores ...

s and

Magellanic subpolar forests The Magellanic subpolar forests () are a terrestrial ecoregion of southernmost South America, covering parts of southern Chile and Argentina, and are part of the Neotropical realm. It is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion, and ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It is one of two species in the genus Geoxus.

Description

The long-clawed mole mouse is a small shrew-like mammal with a short tail and a total length of about . The body is spindle-shaped, enabling this mouse to move and turn in confined spaces. The pelage is short and velvety, dark olive-brown to black, sometimes tinged with reddish brown. The snout is pointed, the eyes small and the ears tiny. The feet are large, the claws being larger than the digits.

Distribution and habitat

This species 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 the southern tip of South America. Its range extends from southern Argentina and central Chile, including

Mocha Island Mocha Island ( ) is a Chilean island located west of the coast of Arauco Province in the Pacific Ocean. The island is the location of numerous historic shipwrecks. In Mapuche mythology, the souls of dead people travel west to visit this island. ...

and

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island (, , ), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los L ...

, to the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natura ...

. Its habitat is the forests of ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...

'', ''

Saxegothaea ''Saxegothaea'' is a genus comprising a single species, ''Saxegothaea conspicua''. It is a conifer in the podocarp family Podocarpaceae, native to southern South America. It grows in Chile and Argentina from 35° to 46° South latitude; in its no ...

'' and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

found in this region, as well as

tussock grassland Tussock may refer to: * Tussock grass, a group of species in the family Poaceae *Floating island * Lymantriinae, called tussock moths or tussocks See also * Hassock (disambiguation) * Hummock (disambiguation) * Hillock A hillock or knoll ...

, marshes and wet meadows; its altitudinal range is from sea level to the

tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

Behaviour

The long-clawed mole mouse digs a burrow and also moves about in surface runways near fallen logs and in dense undergrowth. It is mainly nocturnal, leaving its burrow briefly to feed on earthworms and other small invertebrates, supplemented by plant material.

Status

''G. valdivianus'' is an uncommon species but it has a wide range and no particular threats have been identified; the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q914271 Geoxus Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Chile Mammals described in 1858 Taxa named by Rodolfo Amando Philippi Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fauna of the Valdivian temperate forests