Auliscomys Osgood 1915

Auliscomys Osgood 1915, Field Mus . Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 10: 190.

Type Species: Reithrodon pictus Thomas 1884

Synonyms: Maresomys Braun 1993 .

Species and subspecies: 3 species:

Species Auliscomys boliviensis (Waterhouse 1846)

Species Auliscomys pictus (Thomas 1884)

Species Auliscomys sublimis (Thomas 1900)

Discussion: Phyllotini . Diagnosed as a subgenus of Phyllotis and variably recognized afterwards at that rank (Osgood, 1947; Pearson, 1958) or as a genus (Gyldenstolpe, 1932; Thomas, 1926 a). Recent evidence supports the monophyly and probable earlier divergence of Auliscomys (Pearson and Patton, 1976; Simonetti and Spotorno, 1980), usually as closely related to Galenomys (Braun, 1993; Steppan, 1993, 1995; Steppan and Sullivan, 2000). Includes Maresomys whose type species (= boliviensis) Braun (1993) interpreted as sister group to Galenomys, but which Steppan (1995) viewed as cognate to other species of Auliscomys and placed as synonym of the latter. The critical nodes on which these nomenclatural decisions hinge reflect slightly different coding schemes of morphological traits and rely upon consensus depictions of numerous equal-length trees; as such, the issue invites additional testing with other information sources. Anderson (1997) used Maresomys as a subgenus of Auliscomys . Alpha systematics revised by Pearson (1958) and Hershkovitz (1962) as part of Phyllotis . Banded karyotypes and chromosomal evolution evaluated and compared with Loxodontomys micropus by Walker and Spotorno (1992).