The spotted bolo mouse or Ecuadorian akodont (''Necromys punctulatus'') 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 known from

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and may also occur in Colombia. Little is known of its status and range.

Taxonomy

''Necromys punctulatus'' is known from a single specimen in the Natural History Museum, London which was originally collected by the British zoologist

Louis Fraser Louis Fraser (1810 – 1866) was a British Zoology, zoologist and collector. In his early years, Fraser was curator of the Museum of the Zoological Society of London. Little is known about Fraser's early life. He was born in 1810 and married Mary A ...

in Ecuador between 1857 and 1859. For a long time this was thought to be a subspecies of the short-tailed cane mouse (''

Zygodontomys brevicauda ''Zygodontomys brevicauda'', also known as the short-tailed zygodont, short-tailed cane mouse, or common cane mouse, is a species of rodent in the genus ''Zygodontomys'' of tribe Oryzomyini. Distribution It occurs from Costa Rica via Panama, Co ...

'') but in 1991, the American zoologist Robert S. Voss examined the type specimen and came to the conclusion that it had many features in common with the hairy-tailed bolo mouse (''Necromys lasiurus''), then classified as ''Bolomys lasiurus'', and placed it in the same genus, as ''Bolomys punctata''. Both have since been transferred to the new genus ''

Necromys ''Necromys'' is a genus of South American sigmodontine rodents allied to ''Akodon''. This genus has also been known as ''Cabreramys'' or more recently ''Bolomys'', and the northern grass mouse (''N. urichi'') has recently been transferred from ' ...

''.

Description

The spotted bolo mouse is a medium-sized member of its genus, growing to a total length of including a tail of about . The fur is short and harsh. The colour of the upper parts is mainly blackish, some hairs being streaked with grey and yellow, resulting in the cheeks, and the sides of the neck and body being somewhat olive. The underparts are whitish, the ears are brown and well-covered with hair, and the tail is two-coloured, dark above and pale beneath. The backs of the hands and feet are brownish-white, and the fifth digit on the feet is much reduced in size.

Distribution

The spotted bolo mouse is found in eastern Ecuador and perhaps also in Colombia.

Status

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 ...

lists the conservation status of the spotted bolo mouse as being "

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

". This is because the organisation lacks up to date information on the extent of this mouse's range, any threats it faces, its current status and its ecological needs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q306687 Necromys Mammals of Ecuador Mammals described in 1894 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas