Phyllotis magister Thomas 1912

Phyllotis magister Thomas 1912, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 10: 406.

Type Locality: Perú, Arequipa Dept., Arequipa, 2300 m.

Vernacular Names: Majestic Pericote.

Distribution: Upper Pacific slopes of Andes from C Perú (see Arana-Cardó and Ascorra, 1994) to N Chile.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Hershkovitz (1962) treated magister as a subspecies of P. darwini, a rank inconsistent with records of sympatry (Pearson, 1958) and karyotypic differences (Pearson, 1972; Pearson and Patton, 1976). Pearson (1958) arranged definitus as a subspecies of P. magister but later (1972) supported its specific status. Intestinal area and volume compared with P. xanthopygus and related to dietary differences (Lagos and Bozinovic, 1999).