Sigmodon (Sigmodon) hirsutus Burmeister 1854

Sigmodon (Sigmodon) hirsutus Burmeister 1854, Abhandlungen Naturforschender Gesellschaft Halle, Sitzungberichte, 2: 16.

Type Locality: Venezuela, Zulia State, Maracaibo.

Vernacular Names: Southern Cotton Rat.

Synonyms: Sigmodon (Sigmodon) austerulus Bangs 1902; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) bogotensis J. A. Allen 1897; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) borucae J. A. Allen 1897; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) chiriquensis J. A. Allen 1904; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) griseus J. A. Allen 1908; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) sanctaemartae Bangs 1898 .

Distribution: Nicaragua to C Panamá, Central America; in South America to N Colombia and N Venezuela (see Linares, 1998:Fig. 171); northern limits uncertain.

Discussion: Subgenus Sigmodon, S. hispidus species group. Central and South American taxa included as subspecies of S. hispidus (Cabrera, 1961; Hall and Kelson, 1959), observing the polytypic species template handed down from Bailey (1902). Genetic separation, inferred from cytochrome b sequence data, of southern populations revealed by Peppers and Bradley (2000), who reinstated hirsutus as species; sister species to S. alleni based on those data (and Peppers et al., 2002). Among the species-group synonyms, the South American taxa bogotenis and sanctaemartae, which have yet to be surveyed genetically, warrant additional attention; Gyldenstolpe (1932) and Ellerman (1941) listed both as species.