Neusticomys

Neusticomys
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Sigmodontinae
Tribe:	Ichthyomyini
Genus:	Neusticomys Anthony, 1921
Type species
Neusticomys monticolus Anthony, 1921
Species
N. ferreirai N. monticolus N. mussoi N. oyapocki N. peruviensis N. venezuelae

Neusticomys is a genus of semiaquatic, animalivorous South American rodents in the family Cricetidae.^[1]

The term Neusticomys derives from the two ancient greek words νευστικός (neustikós), meaning "able to swim", and μῦς (mûs), meaning "mouse, rat".^[2][3] N. monticolous and N. vossi primarily inhabit montante regions of west Columbia and eastern Ecuador, with the former noted to occur in the Andean Cordillera and the Occidental mountain range at elevations of 1,800-3,750 meters. The rest inhabit tropical lowland forests primarily in the northern and eastern regions of the Amazon rainforest, whereas N. peruviensis is an endemic species to Peru.^[4][5]

This genus contains the following seven species:^[4]

• Ferreira's fish-eating rat (Neusticomys ferreirai) — Percequillo, Carmignotto & Silva, 2005
• Montane fish-eating rat (N. monticolus) — Anthony, 1921
• Musso's fish-eating rat (N. mussoi) — Ochoa G. & Soriano, 1991
• Oyapock's fish-eating rat (N. oyapocki) — (Dubost & Petter, 1978)
• Peruvian fish-eating rat (N. peruviensis) — (Musser & Gardner, 1974)
• Venezuelan fish-eating rat (N. venezuelae) — (Anthony, 1929)
• Voss' fish-eating rat (N. vossi) — (Hanson, D’Elía, Ayers, Cox, Burneo & Lee, 2015)

Distribution

Distribution of Neusticomys species

Species	Ecosystem	Endemic to
N. ferreirai	Lowland tropical forests	Northern Brazil
N. monticolus	Montane ecosystem (at elevations of 1800–3750 meters)	Northern Ecuador and western Columbia
N. mussoi	Lowland tropical forests	Western Venezuela
N. oyapocki	Lowland tropical forests	French Guinea and Brazil
N. peruviensis	Lowland tropical forests	Eastern Peru
N. venezuelae	Lowland tropical forests	Guyana and Venezuela
N. vossi	Montane ecosystem (at elevations of 1900–3750 meters)	Southern Columbia and northern and central Ecuador

References

1. Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 894–1531. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
2. Bailly, Anatole (1981-01-01). Abrégé du dictionnaire grec français. Paris: Hachette. ISBN 2010035283. OCLC 461974285.
3. Bailly, Anatole. "Greek-french dictionary online". www.tabularium.be. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
4. Pacheco, Victor (22 May 2020). "A revision of Neusticomys peruviensis (Rodentia: Cricetidae) with the description of a new subspecies". Journal of Mammalogy. 101 (3): 858–871. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyaa011.
5. Ochoa G., José; Soriano, Pascual (1991). "A New Species of Water Rat, Genus Neusticomys Anthony, from the Andes of Venezuela". Journal of Mammalogy. 72 (01): 97–103. doi:10.2307/1381983 – via JSTOR.