''Notiomys edwardsii'', also known as Edwards's long-clawed mouse,
[ Edward's long-clawed akodont,][Musser and Carleton, 2005, p. 1136] or Milne-Edwards' long-clawed mouse, is a 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, ...
from southern 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 ...
. It is the only species in the genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''Notiomys'', although species of ''Chelemys
''Chelemys'' is a genus of South American rodents in the tribe Abrotrichini of family Cricetidae. Three species—''Chelemys delfini'', '' Chelemys macronyx'', and '' Chelemys megalonyx''—are known, all found in central and southern Chile and Ar ...
'' and ''Geoxus
''Geoxus'' is a genus of South American rodents in the tribe Abrotrichini of family Cricetidae. Two species—''Geoxus valdivianus
''Geoxus valdivianus'', also known as the long-clawed mole mouse or Valdivian long-clawed akodont, is a species ...
'' were formerly included in that genus.[
]
Description
Edwards's long-clawed mouse is a small mouse with a short tail, having a total length of about , including a tail of about .pinnae
Pinna may refer to:
Biology
* Pinna (anatomy), or auricle, the outer part of the ear
* ''Pinna'' (bivalve), a genus of molluscs
* Pinna (botany), a primary segment of a compound leaf
People Surname
* Christophe Pinna (born 1968), French marti ...
are small and rounded, the thin margins being clad in white hairs. The tail is well furred, being buffy-white above and white below. The fore feet have long nails some in length. The hind feet are short and broad, being fringed with bristly hairs at the sides, and having furred heel pads and naked soles; they have claws.
Distribution and habitat
The 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 Santa Cruz Province, Chubut Province
Chubut ( from Tehuelche language, Tehuelche 'transparent'; ) is a provinces of Argentina, province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa ...
and Río Negro Province
Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.
Its cap ...
in southern Argentina. Its typical habitats are shrubby and herbaceous steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the tropical and subtropica ...
, grassy steppes and rocky plateaus with shrubs and bunchgrass
Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...
.[
]
Ecology
The ecology of this burrowing mouse has been little studied. It mostly feeds on insects but may also consume seeds. One specimen was found inside the burrow of a Haig's tuco-tuco (''Ctenomys haigi''). Before 1998, only eight localities across Patagonia were known. More recently, as a result of more-intensive surveys, over fifty localities have been identified, some by finding the remains of mice in owl pellets.[
]
Conservation status
Edwards's long-clawed mouse has a wide range and is present in several protected areas. It is common in some places and uncommon in others, and is assumed to have a large total population. No particular threats have been identified and the population appears to be steady, so 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
Literature cited
*Duff, A. and Lawson, A. 2004. Mammals of the World: A checklist. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 312 pp.
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1294241
Abrotrichini
Mammals of Argentina
Mammals described in 1890
Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas
Least concern biota of South America