Records of Harvest Mice, Reithrodontomys, from Central America, with Description of a New Subspecies from NicaraguaJones, J. Knox
Science
Records of Harvest Mice, Reithrodontomys, from Central America, with Description of a New Subspecies from Nicaragua
Jones, J. Knox
Mice
Our seven specimens are from near the northwestern edge of the
geographic range of _orinus_ (where it meets that of _howelli_) as
mapped by Hooper (1952:141). Nevertheless, they are distinctly brighter
dorsally, paler ventrally, and average larger than the specimens listed
in the account of _R. m. howelli_ above. Also, they match well in size
and coloration the specimens from nearby Lago de Amatitlan (USNM
275406-09) and Finca San Rafael (CNHM 41770) that were referred by
Hooper to _R. m. orinus_. He (_op. cit._:149) noted that these
last-mentioned specimens were slightly darker than topotypes of
_orinus_ and differed from them in several minor cranial features,
which he interpreted as evidence of intergradation with _howelli_.
~_Reithrodontomys brevirostris_~ Goodwin.--COSTA RICA.--Alajuela: 5 mi.
SW San Ramón, 1 (KU 71362--July 11, 1956). NICARAGUA.--Carazo: 3 mi.
NNW Diriamba, 2 (KU 71390-91--June 16, 21, 1956).
External measurements of these three specimens are respectively: total
length, 179, 167, 173; length of tail, 107, 96, 101; length of hind
foot, 19, 18, 18; length of ear from notch, 15, 13, 13. The teeth show
about the same moderate wear in each of the three specimens. Our
_brevirostris_ differ noticeably from specimens of _Reithrodontomys
mexicanus cherriei_ and _R. m. lucifrons_ that we have seen in duller,
darker, and less reddish color. One specimen, KU 71390, still has a
patch of gray juvenal pelage on the nape; the newer pelage elsewhere is
shorter and sparser than that of the other two specimens. In addition,
No. 71390, a female, contained no embryos, but has two pairs of mammae,
one pair pectoral and one inguinal, that are conspicuous on the dried
skin; perhaps this female was lactating when captured. The mammae of KU
71362, also a non-pregnant female, are inconspicuous on the dried skin.
The Nicaraguan specimens extend the known geographic range
approximately 270 kilometers northwestward from near Villa Quesada,
Alajuela, Costa Rica, and are the first records of the species from
Nicaragua.
LITERATURE CITED
ENGLERT, D. C.
1959. First records of two species of harvest mice in
Nicaragua. Southwestern Nat., 4:153, October 24.
FELTON, H.
1958. Nagetiere (Mammalia, Rodentia) aus El Salvador, Teil
2. Senckenbergiana Biologica, 39 (1/2):1-10, 1 fig.,
March 31.
HOOPER, E. T.
1952. A systematic review of the harvest mice (genus
_Reithrodontomys_) of Latin America. Miscl. Publ.
Mus. Zool., Univ. Michigan, 77:1-225, 9 pls., 24
figs., 12 maps, January 16.
_Transmitted October 1, 1959._
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Transcriber's Notes:
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