Colombian forest mouse
| Colombian Forest Mouse Temporal range: Recent
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| Genus: | Chilomys Thomas, 1897
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| Species: | C. instans
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| Binomial name | |
| Chilomys instans Thomas, 1895
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The Colombian forest mouse (Chilomys instans) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. Some authorities consider it to be the only species in the genus Chilomys, while others accept Chilomys fumeus as being a valid species. Chilomys instans is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
Description
Chilomys instans is very similar to Chilomys fumeus in size and appearance. Both are small sigmodontines, with a head-and-body length of 72 to 102 mm (2.8 to 4.0 in) and a tail length of 102 to 137 mm (4.0 to 5.4 in). The ears are medium-sized and clad in short hairs, and the body fur is woolly and short. The dorsal surface is dark grey to greyish-brown and the underparts are a similar colour. The hind feet are narrow and the slender tail is clad with short hairs, and often has a white tip. There are three pairs of mammary glands. The chief differences between the two species lies in the morphology of the skull.[1]
References
- Baillie, J. 1996. Chilomys instans. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 9 July 2007.
- Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
- ^ Patton, James L.; Pardiñas, Ulyses F. J.; D’Elía, Guillermo (2015). Mammals of South America, Volume 2: Rodents. University of Chicago Press. pp. 577–580. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6.