Calomys lepidus Thomas 1884

Calomys lepidus Thomas 1884, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1884: 454.

Type Locality: Perú, Junín Dept., Junín.

Vernacular Names: Graceful Laucha.

Synonyms: Calomys argurus (Thomas 1919); Calomys carilla (Thomas 1902); Calomys ducilla (Thomas 1901); Calomys marcarum (Thomas 1917); Calomys montanus (Sanborn 1950) .

Distribution: Altiplano of C Perú, through W Bolivia (2950-4820 m), to NE Chile and NW Argentina (Jujuy, Salta, and Tucúman; Díaz, 1999; Ortiz et al., 2000 a).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Revised by Hershkovitz (1962). Populations in Jujuy, NW Argentina, exhibit a different chromosomal complement (2n = 44, FN = 68), as reported by Espinosa et al. (1997), from those described from Peru (2n = 36, FN = 68) by Pearson and Patton (1976); Espinosa et al. (1997) offered a Robertsonian explanation to account for such the karyotypic differences between chromosomal races of a single species, but also acknowledged that two species may be involved. Anderson (1997) regarded carillus and ducillus as valid subspecies in the Bolivian Andes.