Wiedomys Hershkovitz 1959

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 : 1185

Wiedomys Hershkovitz 1959

Wiedomys Hershkovitz 1959 , Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 72: 5.

Type Species: Mus pyrrhorhinos Wied-Neuwied 1821

Species and subspecies: 1 species:

Species Wiedomys pyrrhorhinos (Wied-Neuwied 1821)

Discussion: Wiedomyini. Tribe formally diagnosed by Reig (1980) to contain a fossil genus, Cholomys , recovered from E Argentina, and the problematic form pyrrhorhinos , which has been variously classified as a species of Oryzomys or Thomasomys (see Tate, 1932 f; Osgood, 1933 d; and Hershkovitz, 1959 b). Genus documented, as W. marplatensis , from the late Pliocene (Sanandresian) of Argentina ( Quintana, 2002). Noting phallic similarities between W. pyrrhorhinos and certain phyllotines, Langguth and Silva Neto (1993) considered it an early offshoot of the South American sigmodontine radiation; based on a broader survey of morphological traits, Steppan (1995:60) considered its possible derivation from "a basal ‘thomasomyine’ grade." Although these somewhat conflicting assessments perhaps argue for continued tribal segregation, more definitive interpretation of the genus’ phylogenetic position is desirable.