Delomys

The Atlantic forest rats ( Delomys ) are a living in South America rodent genus of the group of the New world. They include three types.

Atlantic forest rats reach a body length 10-15 inches, the tail is 9-15 inches long and the weight is 50 to 90 grams. Her short, dense coat is yellow-gray at the top, brown or gray, the belly is light gray.

These rodents inhabiting forests in southeastern Brazil and northeastern Argentina, where they occur at altitudes up to 2700 meters. They are nocturnal and stay mainly at the bottom. They build trails or tunnels to move ahead faster in the dense vegetation on the forest floor.

There are three types:

• Delomys collinus inhabits mountain forests in Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro. It is recognized as a distinct species.
• Delomys dorsalis lives in southeast Brazil (from Minas Gerais to Rio Grande do Sul ) and in northeast Argentina ( Misiones ).
• Delomys sublineatus is distributed from Minas Gerais to Santa Catarina.

None of the species is endangered according to the IUCN, although this information is deprecated.

The systematic position of the Atlantic forest rat is unclear. Previously they were incorporated as a supposed relative of the Paramo mice in the Thomasomyini, but this may not correspond with the actual descent conditions. They may form, together with a few other, mainly living in Southeast Brazil rodents, such as the Ruschi Rat ( Abrawayaomys ), the Wilfred mouse ( Wilfredomys ), the Rio de Janeiro - Rat ( Phaenomys ) and Juliomys a systematic group.