''Neusticomys'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
semiaquatic, animalivorous
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...
n
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 lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are roden ...
s 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 almost 608 species, it is the second-largest family of mammals, a ...
.
The term ''Neusticomys'' derives from the two
ancient greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
words (), meaning "able to swim", and (), meaning "mouse, rat". ''N. monticolous'' and ''N. vossi'' primarily inhabit
montante regions of west Columbia and eastern Ecuador, with the former noted to occur in the Andean Cordillera and the Occidental mountain range at elevations of 1,800-3,750 meters. The rest inhabit tropical lowland forests primarily in the northern and eastern regions of the Amazon rainforest, whereas ''N. peruviensis'' is an endemic species to Peru.
Ferreira's fish-eating rat
Ferreira's fish-eating rat (''Neusticomys ferreirai'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is known only from primary lowland tropical rainforest. It is named after 18th-century Brazilian naturalist Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira
...
(''Neusticomys ferreirai'') — Percequillo, Carmignotto & Silva, 2005
* Montane fish-eating rat (''N. monticolus'') — Anthony, 1921
* Musso's fish-eating rat
Musso's fish-eating rat (''Neusticomys mussoi'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae endemic to
western Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezue ...
(''N. mussoi'') — Ochoa G. & Soriano, 1991
* Oyapock's fish-eating rat
Oyapock's fish-eating rat (''Neusticomys oyapocki'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found in French Guiana and Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the larges ...
(''N. oyapocki'') — (Dubost & Petter, 1978)
* Peruvian fish-eating rat (''N. peruviensis'') — (Musser & Gardner, 1974)
* Venezuelan fish-eating rat (''N. venezuelae'') — (Anthony, 1929)
* Voss' fish-eating rat (''N. vossi'') — (Hanson, D’Elía, Ayers, Cox, Burneo & Lee, 2015)
Distribution
References
Rodent genera
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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