The rufous-bellied bolo mouse or white-chinned akodont, (''Necromys lactens'') 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

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 ...

. It is found in

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

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

where it inhabits the dry valleys of the eastern Andes. Its conservation status is listed by 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 ...

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 ...

Description

The rufous-bellied bolo mouse reaches a head-and-body length of with a tail of . The head and back are a buffy-brown with fine streaks of black. The flanks are more richly coloured, reddish-brown or cinnamon, and the underparts are a variable shade of cinnamon. The ears are well-haired and there is nearly always a white spot on the chin or throat. The tail is two-coloured, blackish brown above and whitish or buff below. The claws are long and are concealed in tufts of white hair.

Distribution and habitat

The rufous-bellied bolo mouse is native to the eastern slopes of the Andes in central and southern Bolivia and northern Argentina. Its typical habitat is

puna grassland The puna grassland ecoregion, part of the Andean montane grasslands and shrublands biome, is found in the central Andes Mountains of South America. It is considered one of the eight Natural Regions in Peru,Pulgar Vidal, Javier: Geografía del Per ...

in dry valleys. In Bolivia it occurs between about , and in Argentina, between about .

Status

The rufous-bellied bolo mouse is a common species in appropriate habitat in its wide range. It is tolerant of some degree of habitat modification, with some of the

being increasingly used for cattle grazing, but it does not adapt to living in cropland. The

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

", believing that any population decline is not sufficiently rapid as to warrant putting it in a more threatened category.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q306214 Necromys Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Bolivia Mammals described in 1918 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot