Calomys laucha (Fischer 1814)

[Mus] laucha Fischer 1814, in: Eschwege, J. Brasilien, Neue Bibliothek. Reisenb., Vol. 15, 2: 209.

Type Locality: Paraguay, Central Dept., vicinity of Asunción (as restricted by Hershkovitz, 1962:153).

Vernacular Names: Little Laucha.

Synonyms: Calomys bimaculatus (Waterhouse 1837); Calomys bonariensis (Osgood 1933); Calomys dubius (Fischer 1829); Calomys gracilipes (Waterhouse 1837); Calomys pusillus (Philippi 1858) .

Distribution: Dry biotopes in SC Bolivia (Chaco), N and EC Argentina, W Paraguay, WC and extreme S Brazil, and Uruguay (González et al., 1995).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Formerly included hummelincki (See Handley, 1976), musculinus (see Massoia et al., 1968), and tener (see species account). Attribution of pusillus follows Hershkovitz (1962; also see Osgood, 1943:239); that of bimaculatus as per Brum-Zorilla et al. (1990). Allozymic variability and differentiation among samples in EC Argentina assayed by Chiappero et al. (2002) and Gardenal et al. (2002).