Peromyscus cordillerae Dickey, 1928

López, Celeste M., Turcios-Casco, Manfredo A., van den Berghe, Eric, Ordóñez-Garza, Nicté & Alvarez, Martin R., 2024, A Taxonomic Odyssey: An annotated checklist of Peromyscus (Cricetidae, Rodentia) in Honduras, ZooKeys 1218, pp. 315-332 : 315-332

Peromyscus cordillerae Dickey, 1928

Distribution.

Lempira and La Paz departments (Fig. 3 ).

Ecoregions and elevation.

Central American dry and pine-oak forests (1129–1984 m a. s. l.).

Comments.

The individuals from Honduras that Goodwin (1942) had identified as P. mexicanus saxatilis Merriam, 1898 were considered to belong to P. oaxacensis Merriam, 1898 , ( P. aztecus group) by Musser (1969). Similarly, Musser (1969) indicated that the species cataloged as P. hondurensis Goodwin, 1941 by Goodwin (1942) also belonged to P. oaxacensis . Recently, Kilpatrick et al. (2021) treated P. oaxacensis as a subspecies of P. aztecus (Saussure, 1860) restricted to Mexico. Additionally, P. cordillerae refers to all members of the P. aztecus species group within the southeast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and two subspecies have been provisionally proposed: one from the Cahuatique locality, as P. cordillerae cordillerae , and the other, P. cordillerae hondurensis for western Honduras (Table 2 ). Therefore, we should treat Honduran specimens referenced as P. oaxacensis , P. aztecus , P. aztecus oaxacensis , and P. hondurensis as pertaining to P. c. hondurensis ( Musser 1969; Carleton 1979; Hall 1981; Kilpatrick et al. 2021). This group requires additional study in eastern Honduras and confirmation of its presence in other regions of the country. For example, Matson et al. (2016) identified P. oaxacensis (Table 2 ) based on its external morphology in the Sierra de Agalta National Park, situated in eastern Honduras, in the department of Olancho. This area is not part of the potential distribution proposed by Kilpatrick et al. (2021) which included the departments Choluteca, Comayagua, Copán, El Paraíso, Intibucá, Francisco Morazán, Ocotepeque, Santa Barbara, and Valle. Hence, it is crucial to verify these specimens and historical records before making any taxonomic reassignment.

Figures

Figure 3. Distribution of P. cordillerae in Honduras.