The pleasant bolo mouse, or pleasant akodont, (''Necromys amoenus'') 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 on grassland at high altitudes in

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 ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Description

The pleasant bolo mouse is a small member of its genus with a head-and-body length of between and a tail of . The back and upper parts have yellowish-brown fur intermixed with some black hairs. The muzzle, cheeks and sides of the body are yellowish-buff, and the underparts are whitish. There is often a clear demarcation between the different regions, and the belly contrasts strongly with the upper regions. The whiskers are short, the ears rounded and well-furred and the tail is blackish-brown or ochre-brown above, and white below. The paws are covered with ochre-brown hairs above and the nails are concealed in bushy tufts of hair.

Distribution and habitat

The pleasant bolo mouse is found in the Andean Plateau of west-central South America, in western Bolivia and southeastern Peru. It is present in the

altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...

grasslands at altitudes between about . It is also reported from the eastern side of the Andes on slopes in

Salta Province Salta () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa Province, Formosa, Chaco Province, Chaco, Santiago del Estero Province, Santiago del Es ...

, Argentina. It can be found near rocky outcrops and in sparsely-grassed area with scattered rocks, particularly in areas where the Peruvian feathergrass (''Jarava ichu'') and '' Parastrephia lepidophylla'' predominate. It is also found in ''

Polylepis ''Polylepis'' is a genus comprising 28 recognised shrub and tree species, that are endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes, up to above sea level. It is distributed from Venezuela to Patagonia. In Peru, plants in the ...

'' woodland and cultivated areas in Bolivia and seems tolerant of disturbance to its habitat.

Ecology

The pleasant bolo mouse is diurnal and seems to feed mostly on insects.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q305893 Necromys Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Peru Mammals described in 1900 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot