Rhipidomys fulviventer Thomas 1896

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Cricetidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 955-1189 : 1168

Rhipidomys fulviventer Thomas 1896

Rhipidomys fulviventer Thomas 1896 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 6, 18: 304.

Type Locality: Colombia, Cundinamarca Dept., Aguadulce, 2400 ft (732 m).

Vernacular Names: Tawny-bellied Rhipidomys.

Synonyms: Rhipidomys elatturus Osgood 1914 ; Rhipidomys similis J. A. Allen 1912 ; Rhipidomys tenuicauda (J. A. Allen 1899) .

Distribution: Isolated populations in the Andes of SW and C Colombia, and W and NE Venezuela.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: R. fulviventer section sensu Tribe (1996). Listed as a subspecies of R. latimanus by Cabrera (1961) but clearly a species separate from the latimanus venezuelae complex in Venezuela ( Handley, 1976; Tribe, 1996). Includes venustus as a subspecies according to Tribe (1996) but not Linares (1998). To us, the considerable variation among Venezuelan series ( USNM) indicates the presence of at least two species: venustus proper in the Mérida Andes and fulviventer sensu lato in the coastal mountains ( tenuicauda ) and Páramo de Tamá ( elatturus ). Whether the latter two small forms are conspecific with fulviventer proper, as provisionally arranged here, invites further study using other information bases. The highly disjunct distribution of fulviventer , as conveyed by the listed synonyms, must in part reflect the need for additional field inventory. Equally plausible, revisionary investigation may uncover complementary, geographically replacing, specific ranges among these synonyms; the status and relationships of similis and tenuicauda are foremost candidates for such renewed attention. Compared with R. wetzeli by Gardner (1989).