Oligoryzomys destructor ( Tschudi, 1844 )

Velazco, Paúl M. & Patterson, Bruce D., 2019, Small Mammals Of The Mayo River Basin In Northern Peru, With The Description Of A New Species Of Sturnira (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2019 (429), pp. 1-69 : 51

Oligoryzomys destructor ( Tschudi, 1844)

VOUCHER MATERIAL: El Diamante: 1 adult male ( FMNH 203504 ) ; Tingana: 2 adult males ( MUSM 39285 , 39286 ) ; see table 24 for measurements.

IDENTIFICATION: We consulted descriptions and measurements of Oligoryzomys destructor provided by Anderson (1997), Weksler and Bonvicino (2015b), Pardiñas (2017a), and Hurtado and D’Elía (2019). Currently two subspecies are recognized: O. d. destructor (eastern slope of the Andes [between 1600 and 3600 m] from southern Marañon River to southern Peru) and O. d. spodiurus (western slope of the Andes [between 1200 and 2900 m] from northern Ecuador to northern Marañon River in Peru) ( Hurtado and D’Elía, 2019). Oligoryzomys destructor is characterized by the following characteristics: upper body reddish brown, interspersed with numerous black hairs and some gray ones with light tips; ventral fur pale yellow with a gray base; transition between ventral and dorsal coloration well defined; tail markedly bicolored; tail longer than head and body length; dorsal surfaces of feet covered by short silver-gray hair, with hairs of nail base very long; internal ear surfaces with short, pale brown hair, external surface covered with longer, blackish hairs; eight mammae present; opening of stapedial foramen large (carotid circulation pattern 2); zygomatic notch deep; interorbital constriction narrower than external breadth across molar rows; posterior borders of incisive foramina reach the anterior borders of M1; anterior border of mesopterygoid fossa curved; and short and thin coronoid process ( Weksler and Bonvicino, 2015b; Pardiñas, 2017a; Hurtado and D’Elía, 2019). Our specimen conforms to previous descriptions of the nominate subspecies, and measurements fall within the range of size variation previously documented.

REMARKS: At Mayo River basin, two of our specimens of Oligoryzomys destructor were captured at the Tingana locality which lies at an elevation of 815 m, far lower than the lowest elevation (1600 m) reported by Hurtado and D’Elía (2019) for the nominal subspecies. All three specimens were captured in cultivated areas. Lareschi and Velazco (2013) reported the mites Gigantolaelaps tiptoni and Mysolaelaps parvispinosus from our specimens.