Sigmodon (Sigmodon) arizonae Mearns 1890

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Cricetidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 955-1189 : 1174

Sigmodon (Sigmodon) arizonae Mearns 1890

Sigmodon (Sigmodon) arizonae Mearns 1890 , Bull. Am. Mus . Nat. Hist., 2: 287.

Type Locality: USA, Arizona, Yavapai Co., 3 mi (5 km) SE Camp Verde, Bell’s Ranch (as restricted by Hoffmeister, 1986).

Vernacular Names: Arizona Cotton Rat.

Synonyms: Sigmodon (Sigmodon) cienegae A. B. Howell 1919 ; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) jacksoni Goldman 1918 ; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) major Bailey 1902 ; Sigmodon (Sigmodon) plenus Goldman 1928 .

Distribution: Extreme SE California, SC Arizona, and extreme SW New Mexico, USA; south along coastal plain and adjoining foothills, sea level- 1900 m, in W México to S Nayarit.

Conservation: IUCN – Extinct as S. a. arizonae , Lower Risk (nt) as S. a. plenus , otherwise Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Sigmodon , S. hispidus species group. Zimmerman (1970) recognized the chromosomal and morphological differences that support the specific separation of S. arizonae from S. hispidus , under which it had been arranged as a subspecies ( Bailey, 1902; Mearns, 1890). Distribution and differentiating traits amplified by Severinghaus and Hoffmeister (1978), Elder and Lee (1985), Hoffmeister (1986), Carleton et al. (1999), and Frey et al. (2002). Association of jacksoni , known only by the type specimen, as a junior synonym has been questioned (Carleton et al., 1999; Hoffmeister, 1986). Hall (1981) retained all named forms as subspecies, a classificatory formality unwarranted without fresh studies of populational variation across the species’ range. Probable sister species of S. mascotensis according to a variety of data (Carleton et al., 1999; Elder, 1980; Peppers and Bradley, 2000; Peppers et al., 2002; Zimmerman, 1970).