New data on Abrawayaomys chebezi (Rodentia, Cricetidae), a poorly known South American sylvan rodent.

ULYSES F.J. PARDIÑAS; PABLO TETA; MARCELA LARESCHI; CARLOS GALLIARI

MAMMALIA

WALTER DE GRUYTER & CO

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2016 vol. 80 p. 341 - 348

0025-1461

Abrawayaomys chebezi is a spiny sigmodontinebelieved endemic to the Atlantic Forest of MisionesProvince, Argentina. The available knowledge is largelyrestricted to the holotype, the only fully vouchered specimen.Here, we detail a second specimen, a subadult maleobtained in the Parque Provincial Urugua-í (Misiones).The morphology of this animal confirms several diagnostictraits of A. chebezi, such as its smaller size relative toAbrawayaomys ruschii, the type species of the genus, andthe simplified occlusal structure of its molars. New dataon soft anatomy indicate that chebezi has a unilocularhemiglandularstomach, no gall bladder, and a complextridigitate penis with an external surface covered byrounded spines. A rich parasite assemblage includingfleas and mites was recorded from this animal. A preliminaryreview of the alpha taxonomy of Abrawayaomys suggeststhe possible existence of three different species inthe genus, one still unnamed.