''Scotinomys'' is a genus 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 lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are roden ...

, the singing mice, 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 ...

. Together with '' Baiomys'', it forms the tribe

Baiomyini Baiomyini is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Neotominae The Neotominae are a subfamily of the family Cricetidae. They consist of four tribes, 16 genera, and many species of New World rats and mice, predominantly found in North America. ...

. It contains the following species: *

Alston's brown mouse Alston's brown mouse, also called Alston's singing mouse, short-tailed singing mouse, or singing mouse (''Scotinomys teguina''), is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Central America, from Chiapas, Mexico, to western Pan ...

(''Scotinomys teguina'') *

Chiriqui brown mouse The Chiriqui brown mouse (''Scotinomys xerampelinus''), also known as the long-tailed singing mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in cloud forest and paramo at elevations of 2100 to 3400 m in Costa Rica and Panama ...

(''Scotinomys xerampelinus'') They are found in mountainous areas in Central America, at altitudes of 1000 m to at least 3500 m. As their common name indicates, they are notable for their acoustic communication. They are insectivorous. The two species show substantial divergence in behaviour and reproduction,Hooper, E. T., & Carleton, M. D. (1976). Reproduction, growth and development in two contiguously allopatric rodent species, genus ''Scotinomys''. ''Miscellaneous Publications of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, 151'', 1-52

/ref> with ''S. xerampelinus'' generally dominant over ''S. teguina'' where the species occur together.

References

Scotinomys, Rodent genera Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cricetidae-stub