Geoxus valdivianus (Philippi 1858)

[Oxymycterus] valdivianus Philippi 1858, Arch. Naturgesch., 24 (1): 303.

Type Locality: Chile, Valdivia Prov.

Vernacular Names: Valdivian Long-clawed Akodont.

Synonyms: Geoxus araucanus (Osgood 1925); Geoxus bicolor (Osgood 1943); Geoxus bullocki (Osgood 1943); Geoxus chiloensis (Osgood 1925); Geoxus fossor Thomas 1919; Geoxus michaelseni (Matschie 1898); Geoxus microtis (J. A. Allen 1903) .

Distribution: C and S Chile (see Saavedra and Simonetti, 2001, for northern range extension), including Mocha and Chiloe Isls, to Straits of Magellan, and S Argentina (Neuquén to Santa Cruz Provs.).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Pearson (1984) noted the uncertainty of the generic association and specific status of michaelseni, which has been arranged as a subspecies (Osgood, 1943; Patterson, 1992 b) or later listed as species (Reig, 1987). The taxon’s status and relationship clearly merit further study. Subspecific distributions in Chile sketched by Muñoz Pedreros (2000).