Scapteromys

Scapteromys Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Recent
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Sigmodontinae
Tribe:	Akodontini
Genus:	Scapteromys Waterhouse, 1837
Type species
Mus tumidus Waterhouse, 1837
Species
Scapteromys aquaticus Scapteromys meridionalis Scapteromys tumidus

Scapteromys is a genus of South American rodents in the tribe Akodontini of family Cricetidae. Three species are known, found in northern Argentina, southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.^[1][2] They are as follows:

• Argentine swamp rat (Scapteromys aquaticus)
• Plateau swamp rat (Scapteromys meridionalis)
• Waterhouse's swamp rat (Scapteromys tumidus)

Species are semiaquatic, living in and near marshes and other bodies of water. They reach a body length of 15 to 20 cm and a tail length of 13–17 cm, and weigh 110-200 g. Fur color is dark gray on top and light gray on the underside. They are primarily crepuscular and nocturnal. Their diet consists mainly of insects; they also consume other invertebrates and plant material.

The three species differ in karyotype, with aquaticus having 2n = 32, tumidus 2n = 24^[1] and meridionalis 2n = 34/36.^[2]

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. p. 1172. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
2. Quintela, F.M.; Goncalves, G.L.; Althoff, S.L.; Sbalqueiro, I.J.; Oliveira, L.F.B.; de Freitas, T.R.O. (2014). "A new species of swamp rat of the genus Scapteromys Waterhouse, 1837 (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) endemic to Araucaria angustifolia forest in southern Brazil". Zootaxa. 3811 (2): 207–225. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3811.2.3. PMID 24943159.

• Nowak, Ronald M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World. Vol. 2 (6th ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 1398–1399. ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-8. OCLC 39045218.