Galenomys garleppii (Thomas, 1898)

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Cricetidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 204-535 : 531

751.

Garlepp’s Mouse

Galenomys garleppii

French: Phyllotis de Garlepp / German: Garlepp-Maus / Spanish: Raton de Garlepp

Other common names: Garlepp's Pericote

Taxonomy. Phyllotis (?) garleppii Thomas, 1898 , “Esperanza, a ‘tambo’ in the neighbourhood of Mount Sahama [La Paz], Bolivia... 4000 metres.”

Galenomys garleppii is the type species of the genus. It is typically viewed as monotypic, but morphological differences have been noted among the few specimens between Bolivian and Peruvian populations that require additional taxonomic assessment. Monotypic.

Distribution. SE Peru (Puno Department) and W Bolivia (La Paz and Oruro departments); occurrence in N Chile needs confirmation.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 105-132 mm, tail 30-45 mm, ear 19 mm, hindfoot 22-25 mm; weight 59-60 g. Garlepp’s Mouse is vole-like and medium-sized, with stout heavy body, short tail, and pale color. Upperparts are buffy, thinly lined with brown;sides are clearer; underparts and legs are sharply defined white; and individual hairs are wholly white on legs, feet, and hands and from chin to anterior part of chest, but basally gray elsewhere. Ears are large and well-haired on outer sides. Forefeet and hindfeet are white above. Plantar surfaces of hindfeet are thinly covered with long white hair, except on tubercles and terminal phalanges. Tail is thickly haired, white above and below; scales are not visible; and terminal tuft is not conspicuous.

Habitat. Altiplano (high plains) in bunch grass habitat at elevations of 3300-4650 m. Peruvian Garlepp’s Mice were caught in heavily grazed pampa, dominated by dwarf grass and prostrate forbs and scattered thorn bushes c.1 m tall.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. In Bolivia, one female Garlepp’s Mouse had four embryos in December, and four young were caught in December; in Peru, a pregnant female was recorded in April and another female with reproductive signals was caught in February. Overall, these scarce data suggest summer reproductive activity.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The [UCN Red List (as G. garleppr). Garlepp’s Mouse is very poorly known in all aspects ofits ecology and behavior. Together with Calaca’s White-tailed Mouse ( Calassomys apicalis ), it is both among the more enigmatic living phyllotines.

Bibliography. Anderson (1997), Dunnum, Vargas, Bernal, Pacheco et al. (2008), Hershkovitz (1962), Osgood (1947), Pearson (1957), Salazar-Bravo (2015d), Thomas (1898c, 1916a).

Figures

725. Haggard’s Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis haggardi), 726. Andean Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis andium), 727. Peruvian Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis gerbillus), 728. Friendly Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis amicus), 729. Narrow-nasal Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis stenops), 730. Pearson’s Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis pearson), 731. Western Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis occidens), 732. Ancash Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis definitus), 733. Lima Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis limatus), 734. Master Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis magister), 735. Yellow-rumped Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus), 736. Osgood’s Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis osgoodi), 737. Bunch Grass Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis osilae), 738. Capricorn Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis caprinus), 739. Tucuman Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis tucumanus), 740. Walnut Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis nogalaris), 741. Darwin’s Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis darwinii), 742. Los Alisos Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis alisosiensis), 743. Anita’s Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis anitae), 744. Bonarian Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis bonariensis), 745. Wolffsohn’s Leaf-eared Mouse 1 (apecomys wolffsohni), 746. Tapecua Leaf-eared Mouse (Tapecomys primus), 747. Southern Big-eared Mouse (Loxodontomys micropus), 748. Delicate Salt Flat Mouse (Salinomys delicatus), 749. Pearson’s Chaco Mouse (Andalgalomys pearsoni), 750. Olrog’s Chaco Mouse (Andalgalomys olrogi), 751. Garlepp’s Mouse (Galenomys garleppii), 752. Painted Big-eared Mouse (Auliscomys pictus), 753. Bolivian Big-eared Mouse (Auliscomys boliviensis), 754. Andean Big-eared Mouse (Auliscomys sublimis), 755. Sumichrast’s Vesper Rat (Nyctomys sumichrasti), 756. Yucatan Vesper Rat (Otonyctomys hatti), 757. Big-eared Climbing Rat (Ototylomys phyllotis), 758. La Pera Climbing Rat (Ototylomys chiapensis), 759. Peters’s Climbing Rat (Tylomys nudicaudus), 760. Chiapan Climbing Rat (Tylomys bullaris), 761. Tumbala Climbing Rat 1 (ylomys tumbalensis), 762. Watson’s Climbing Rat (Tylomys watsoni), 763. Fulvous-bellied Climbing Rat (Tylomys fulviventer), 764. Panama Climbing Rat (Tylomys panamensis), 765. Mira Climbing Rat (Tylomys mirae)

Distribution. SE Peru (Puno Department) and W Bolivia (La Paz and Oruro departments); occurrence in N Chile needs confirmation.