Melanomys Thomas 1902

Melanomys Thomas 1902, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 10: 248.

Type Species: Oryzomys phaeopus Thomas 1894

Species and subspecies: 3 species:

Species Melanomys caliginosus (Tomes 1860)

Species Melanomys robustulus Thomas 1914

Species Melanomys zunigae Sanborn 1949

Discussion: Oryzomyini . Usually arranged as a subgenus of Oryzomys since Goldman’s (1918) revision (e.g., Cabrera, 1961; Ellerman, 1941; Hall, 1981; Reig, 1986; Tate, 1932e). J. A. Allen (1913), however, provided morphological criteria, as contrasted to the type species (= Mus palustris) of Oryzomys, defending his retention of Melanomys as a genus, as did Gyldenstolpe (1932); its synonymy in Oryzomys proper deserves more rigorous, character-based, phylogenetic substantiation. The taxon has not been revised; the three nominal species listed stem from Cabrera (1961), who acknowledged his solely literature-based interpretation as provisional; Allen (1913) had recognized nine and Gyldenstolpe (1932) listed eight. A morphologically distinctive and distributionally circumscribed taxon ripe for revisionary and biogeographic study.