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Sigmodon fulviventer

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Tawny-bellied Cotton Rat
(Sigmodon fulviventer)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:Rodentia
Suborder:Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:Myomorphi
Superfamily:Muroidea
Family:Cricetidae
Subfamily:Sigmodontinae
Tribe:Sigmodontini
Genus:Sigmodon
Subgenus:Sigmodon (subgenus)
Binomial details
Sigmodon fulviventer J. A. Allen, 1889

Description

Hoffmeister (1986): A Sigmodon of small to medium size; underparts brownish, buffy, or fulvous, extending from throat to anus; tail blackish all around, sometimes slightly lighter below than above; upper parts with a "salt-and-pepper" or speckled appearance; antiplantar surface (top) of feet buffy; hind foot and ear short; skull of medium-size.

From Schmidley & Bradley (2016): A small to medium-sized cotton rat with brownish, buff brown, or fulvous underparts from throat to anus. Dorsal coloration is light brown, heavily speckled with dark brown to black, giving a salt-and-pepper or hispid appearance. The tail is uniformly blackish, and the tops of the feet are buff brown.

Sigmodon fulviventer observed in Mexico. Image by Ricardo Arredondo T.

External measurements

Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.

Part of range Reference Total length Tail length Hindfoot length Ear length Mass
Arizona (Cochise, so. Graham, so. Greenlee, eastern Santa Cruz cos.) Hoffmeister (1986) males: 198–265 (n=9); females: 200–274 (n=11) males: 85–115 (n=9); females: 83–125 (n=11) males: 26–33 (n=9); females: 28–33 (n=11) males: 16–18 (n=9); females: 15–21 (n=11)
not reported Ceballos (editor, 2014) 216–278 101–118 26–31 19–23 82–136
Texas (Fort Davis [holotype]) Schmidly & Bradley (2016) 242 90 28 18


Skull

Placeholder image
Image(s) coming soon. We are currently imaging this skull.

Similar species

Hoffmeister (1986): S. fulviventer differs from S. ochrognathus as follows: underparts brownish, buffy, or fulvous rather than whitish; dorsum speckled or "salt and peppery"; tops of feet buffy; tail blackish or nearly so all around. S. hispidus differs from S. fulviventer as follows: underparts silvery or grayish rather than buffy or fulvous; tail bicolored, lighter below than above; tops of hind feet silvery or grayish rather than buffy; hind feet an deasrs averaging longer; preoptic foramen usually absent; nasals usually truncate or notched rather than tapered posteriorly. S. fulviventer differs from S. arizonae in much the same way that S. hispidus does, but in addition the tail is shorter; skulls averages smaller in all measurements except length of palatine foramina and width of rostrum.

From Schmidley & Bradley (2016): From the yellow-nosed cotton rat (S. ochrognathus), S. fulviventer differs in having a rich buffy ventral coloration rather than whitish, a more heavily speckled dorsal coloration, buff-colored tops to the feet rather than grayish, and a uniformly dark-colored tail. Also, S. fulviventer lacks the tawny-colored nose of S. ochrognathus. The hispid cotton rat (S. hispidus) differs from S. fulviventer in having gray or whitish underparts, a bicolored tail that is lighter below than above, grayish tops of the feet, and slightly larger ears and hind feet.

References

Allen JA. 1889. Notes on a collection of mammals from Southern Mexico, with descriptions of new species of the genera Sciurus, Tamias, and Sigmodon'. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2, 180.

Ceballos G, editor. 2014. Mammals of Mexico. Baltimore (MD, USA): Johns Hopkins University Press.

Hoffmeister DF. 1986. Mammals of Arizona. Tucson (AZ, USA): University of Arizona Press.

Schmidly DJ, Bradley RD. 2016. The mammals of Texas. Austin (TX, USA): University of Texas Press.

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