Oryzomys peninsulae
Species of rodent from western Mexico / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Oryzomys peninsulae, also known as the Lower California rice rat,[4] is a species of rodent from western Mexico. Restricted to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, it is a member of the genus Oryzomys of family Cricetidae. Only about twenty individuals, collected around 1900, are known, and subsequent destruction of its riverine habitat may have driven the species to extinction.
Oryzomys peninsulae | |
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Skull of Oryzomys peninsulae, seen from above[1] | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Sigmodontinae |
Genus: | Oryzomys |
Species: | O. peninsulae |
Binomial name | |
Oryzomys peninsulae Thomas, 1897 | |
Distribution of Oryzomys peninsulae (in dark green) and other western Mexican Oryzomys | |
Synonyms[3] | |
Medium in size for its genus, it was first described as a separate species, but later lumped into other, widespread species until it was reinstated as separate in 2009. It is distinctive in fur color—grayish brown on the forequarters and reddish brown on the hindquarters—and in some dimensions of its skull, with a high braincase, robust zygomatic arches (cheekbones), and long incisive foramina (perforations of the palate between the incisors and the molars).