Tuft-tailed spiny tree-rat

For Mesomys occultus, see Tufted-tailed spiny tree-rat.

The tuft-tailed spiny tree rat (Lonchothrix emiliae) is a spiny rat species from Brazil south of the Amazon River, where it has been found in grassland and gallery forest.^[1][2] It is the only species in the genus Lonchothrix.^[2] Very little is known about this rodent. It is small with an average adult weight of about 138 grams. It is nocturnal and solitary in habits.

Tuft-tailed spiny tree-rat
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Echimyidae
Subfamily:	Echimyinae
Tribe:	Echimyini
Genus:	Lonchothrix Thomas, 1920
Species:	L. emiliae
Binomial name
Lonchothrix emiliae Thomas, 1920

The genus and species were described by Oldfield Thomas in 1920. The genus name Lonchothrix derives from the two ancient greek words λόγχη (lónkhē), meaning "spear", and θρίξ, τριχός (thríx, trikhós), meaning "hair".^[3][4]

Phylogeny

Lonchothrix is a member of the Echimyini clade of arboreal Echimyidae rodents.^[5] The closest relative of Lonchothrix is Mesomys, reflecting the fact that these taxa have once been classified in the same subfamily (Eumysopinae).^[2] These two genera share phylogenetic affinities with several taxa and clades: (i) Echimys, Phyllomys, Makalata, Pattonomys, and Toromys ; (ii) the bamboo rats Dactylomys, Olallamys, Kannabateomys together with Diplomys and Santamartamys ; and (iii) Isothrix.^[6]

Genus-level cladogram of the Echimyini.

Echimyini              Isothrix   "Eumysopines"     Lonchothrix   (Tuft-tailed spiny tree-rat)   Mesomys                                           Pattonomys   Toromys   (Giant tree-rat)             Makalata   Echimys   Phyllomys   Diplomys   Santamartamys   (Red-crested tree-rat)   "Dactylomyines"     Kannabateomys   (Atlantic bamboo rat)             Dactylomys   Olallamys

The cladogram has been reconstructed from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA characters.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][5][6]

References

1. Patton, J.; Weksler, M. (2016). "Lonchothrix emiliae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T12274A22205252. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T12274A22205252.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Species Lonchothrix emiliae". 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. 1583. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
3. Bailly, Anatole (1981-01-01). Abrégé du dictionnaire grec français. Paris: Hachette. ISBN 978-2010035289. OCLC 461974285.
4. Bailly, Anatole. "Greek-french dictionary online". www.tabularium.be. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
5. Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Patton, James L.; Leite, Yuri L. R. (2016). "Family Echimyidae (hutias, South American spiny-rats and coypu)". In Wilson, Don E.; Lacher, Thomas E. Jr; Mittermeier, Russell A. (eds.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol 6. Lagomorphs and Rodents I. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 552–641. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4.
6. Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Upham, Nathan S.; Emmons, Louise H.; Justy, Fabienne; Leite, Yuri L. R.; Loss, Ana Carolina; Orlando, Ludovic; Tilak, Marie-Ka; Patterson, Bruce D.; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P. (2017-03-01). "Mitogenomic Phylogeny, Diversification, and Biogeography of South American Spiny Rats". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 34 (3): 613–633. doi:10.1093/molbev/msw261. ISSN 0737-4038. PMID 28025278.
7. Lara, Márcia C.; Patton, James L.; da Silva, Maria Nazareth F. (1996). "The Simultaneous Diversification of South American Echimyid Rodents (Hystricognathi) Based on Complete Cytochrome b Sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 5 (2): 403–413. doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0035. PMID 8728398.
8. Leite, Yuri L. R.; Patton, James L. (2002). "Evolution of South American spiny rats (Rodentia, Echimyidae): the star-phylogeny hypothesis revisited". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 25 (3): 455–464. doi:10.1016/s1055-7903(02)00279-8. PMID 12450750.
9. Galewski, Thomas; Mauffrey, Jean-François; Leite, Yuri L. R.; Patton, James L.; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P. (2005). "Ecomorphological diversification among South American spiny rats (Rodentia; Echimyidae): a phylogenetic and chronological approach". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 34 (3): 601–615. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.11.015. PMID 15683932.
10. Upham, Nathan S.; Patterson, Bruce D. (2012). "Diversification and biogeography of the Neotropical caviomorph lineage Octodontoidea (Rodentia: Hystricognathi)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63 (2): 417–429. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.01.020. PMID 22327013.
11. Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Galewski, Thomas; Tilak, Marie-ka; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P. (2013-03-01). "Diversification of South American spiny rats (Echimyidae): a multigene phylogenetic approach". Zoologica Scripta. 42 (2): 117–134. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2012.00572.x. ISSN 1463-6409. S2CID 83639441.
12. Loss, Ana; Moura, Raquel T.; Leite, Yuri L. R. (2014). "Unexpected phylogenetic relationships of the painted tree rat Callistomys pictus (Rodentia: Echimyidae)" (PDF). Natureza on Line. 12: 132–136.
13. Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Vilstrup, Julia T.; Raghavan, Maanasa; Der Sarkissian, Clio; Willerslev, Eske; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P.; Orlando, Ludovic (2014-07-01). "Rodents of the Caribbean: origin and diversification of hutias unravelled by next-generation museomics". Biology Letters. 10 (7): 20140266. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0266. ISSN 1744-9561. PMC 4126619. PMID 25115033.
14. Upham, Nathan S.; Patterson, Bruce D. (2015). "Evolution of Caviomorph rodents: a complete phylogeny and timetree for living genera". In Vassallo, Aldo Ivan; Antenucci, Daniel (eds.). Biology of caviomorph rodents: diversity and evolution. Buenos Aires: SAREM Series A, Mammalogical Research — Sociedad Argentina para el Estudio de los Mamíferos. pp. 63–120.