Sigmodon (Sigmodon) toltecus Saussure 1860

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 : 1177

Sigmodon (Sigmodon) toltecus Saussure 1860

Sigmodon (Sigmodon) toltecus Saussure 1860 , Rev. Mag. Zool. Paris, ser. 2, 12: 98.

Type Locality: México, Veracruz, near Mirador (as amended by Dalquest, 1953:163).

Vernacular Names: Toltec Cotton Rat.

Synonyms: Sigmodon (Sigmodon) fervidus Lydekker 1904 ; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) furvus Bangs 1903 ; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) microdon Bailey 1902 ; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) saturatus Bailey 1902 .

Distribution: Foothills and lowlands of E México, across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, into the Yucatán Peninsula and N Guatemala; range limits require vouchered documentation.

Discussion: Subgenus Sigmodon , S. hispidus species group. Ranked as a subspecies of a broadly defined S. hispidus by Bailey (1902) and so classified thereafter ( Hall and Kelson, 1959; Hall, 1981). Specific rank defended based on mitochrondrial DNA evaluations that disclose strong genetic divergence and cladistic separation from S. hispidus proper ( Peppers and Bradley, 2000). Molecular studies have so far sampled toltecus and furvus ; other species-group synonyms provisionally observe Carleton’s et al. (1999) narrative outline of the toltecus complex; their synonymy needs confirmation. Sister species to the S. alleni and S. hirsutus clade according to phylogenetic interpretation of cytochrome b data ( Peppers and Bradley, 2000; Peppers et al., 2002).