Pattonomys carrikeri (J. A. Allen, 1911)

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Echimyidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 552-604 : 591-592

75.

Carriker’s Speckled Tree-rat

Pattonomys carrikeri

French: Rat-épineux de Carriker / German: CarrikerTipfelbaumratte / Spanish: Rata arboricola de Carriker

Taxonomy. Loncheres carrikeri J. A. Allen, 1911 ,

“San Esteban,” Carabobo, Venezuela .

Monotypic.

Distribution. Venezuela, in the Cordillera de la Costa (Coastal Range) and C Los Llanos, from Falcon and Lara to Guarico states.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 222-8 mm, tail 218-2 mm. No specific data are avail-able for body weight. Carriker’s Speckled Tree-rat is a small species of Pattonomys and has tinged brown and pale gray upper parts, with mid-dorsum mixed with rufous and black. Venter is white, with distinct pectoral stripe and central abdominal patch of dusky hairs. Dorsal pelage is composed of long and stiff black-tipped bristle guard hairs, interspersed with conspicuously white tipped spines that are abundant over rump and especially so neartail. Finer underfur is rufous, which provides characteristic tinged brown and rufous surface. Head and flanks are grayish. Tail is 97-100% of head-body length and reddish-brown. Tail is covered with short hairs, but tail scales remain visible to the unaided eye. There are two pairs of lateral mammae. Ventral surface oftail base and dorsal surfaces of forefeet, hindfeet, and limbs are whitish gray or gray. Ears are dark brown or brownish black. Skullis short, robust, and broad, with short and distally tapered rostrum and narrow and shallow nares. Supraorbital edges are well developed and wing-like, curving outward along frontal bones. Lateral process of supraoccipital is short and situated at mid-point of auditory meatus opening, not extending beyond lower edge of meatus. Tympanic bulla is swollen and spherical, with meatus situated high near squamosal bone, short auditory tubes having outward orientation, and two overlapping bony rings. Basioccipital is narrow and short. Wide mesopterygoid fossa extends forward to M?*, forming 60° angle with posterior edge of M? lamina. Incisive foramina are short and oval. Cheek tooth rows are parallel but somewhat shorter than in congeners; cheekteeth have uneven loph(s) size; posterior lophs are rounded. Upper cheekteeth are square to rectangular, longer than wide. Lower incisors are not strongly curved, and upper incisors are opisthodont. Mandible has a well-developed masseteric ridge, narrow condyles, and slender angular processes. A mandibular foramen, if present, is placed within fossa on condyloid ridge.

Habitat. Mainly coastal cordilleran and flooded rainforests, extending into semidwarfed trees in arid and semiarid cactus belt of northern Venezuela, from sea level to elevations of at least 700 m and perhaps higher. Museum specimen data also suggest potential occupancy of the arboreal Carriker’s Speckled Tree-rat in xerophytic vegetation and potential savanna habitats or gallery forests. Several specimens were collected near streams or rivers, or even seasonally flooded areas in thorn forest, with others collected from scattered trees in savanna and evergreen forest.

Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but based on morphology, Carriker’s Speckled Tree-rat is likely herbivorous, consuming fruit, seeds, and other plant matter.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but Carriker’s Speckled Tree-rat is reportedly nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The [UCN Red List. Additional studies on distribution, habitat, ecology, and conservation threats to Carriker’s Speckled Tree-rat are needed.

Bibliography. Aguilera et al. (1998), Allen (1911), Cabrera (1961), Eisenberg (1989), Emmons (2005), Handley (1976), Hershkovitz (1948), Linares (1998), Patton et al. (2015), Tate (1935, 1939), Thomas (1916b).

Figures

12. Broad-headed Spiny-rat (Clyomys laticeps), 13. Guiara (Euryzygomatomys spinosus), 14. White-spined Spiny-rat (Irinomys albispinus), 15. Elias’s Spiny-rat (Trinomys eliasi), 16. Rigid-spined Atlantic Spiny-rat (Trinomys paratus), 17. Yonenaga’s Spiny-rat (Trinomys yonenagae), 18. Elegant-spined Atlantic Spiny-rat (Trinomys setosus), 19. Moojen’s Spiny-rat (Trinomys moojeni), 20. Pau Brasil Spiny-rat (Trinomys mirapitanga), 21. Rio de Janeiro Spiny-rat (Trinomys dimidiatus), 22. Sao Paulo Spiny-rat (Trinomys thering), 23. Gracile Atlantic Spiny-rat (Trinomys gratiosus), 24. Sao Lourenco Punare (Thrichomys laurentius), 25. Jacobina Punare (Thrichomys inermis), 26. Lagoa Santa Punare (Thrichomys apereoides), 27. Pantanal Punare (Thrichomys pachyurus), 28. Foster’s Punare (Thrichomys fosteri), 29. Painted Tree-rat (Callistomys pictus), 30. Coypu (Myocastor coypus), 31. Armored Rat (Hoplomys gymnurus)

Distribution. Venezuela, in the Cordillera de la Costa (Coastal Range) and C Los Llanos, from Falcon and Lara to Guarico states.