Sigmodontomys

The Alfaro - water rat or short-tailed water rat ( Sigmodontomys Alfari ) is a living in Central and South America rodent species from the group of the New world.

Features

You can reach a snout-vent length from 11.5 to 15 centimeters, which must be added a 15 to 19 centimeters long tail comes. Their fur is reddish brown at the top, the bottom is light gray, the tail is solid brown or black.

Dissemination

Alfaro - water rat is distributed from Honduras through Colombia to Venezuela and Ecuador, where it inhabits deeper, moist habitats. Otherwise, little is known about their way of life.

Way of life

These animals are adapted to the water of life rodents. However, they are much less specialized than the related Nectomys squamipes that even has webbed toes.

Taxonomy and systematics

Despite the external similarities with the Neotropical water rats ( Nectomys ) to which the Alfaro - water rat was already counted by some authors, it is likely to be more closely related to the Dark rice rats ( Melanomys ).

Previously, two species were placed in the genus Sigmodontomys:

• The Alfaro - water rat Sigmodontomys Alfari is the more common of the two species, it lives from Honduras to South America and has a reddish brown or brown fur.
• Long-tailed water rat ( Tanyuromys aphrastus ) is known only from a few animals that were found in Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador. Their fur is yellow-brown and her tail exceptionally long ( 24 centimeters at 15 centimeters snout-vent length). She lives in altitudes 1275-2000 meters in the highlands. 2012, a separate genus for the long-tailed water rat described by Harris in 1934 was built. Due to lack of data, the type of the IUCN " insufficient data " ( data deficient ) is performed.