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Chek List

Journal of species lists and distribution

Distribution extension of Phaenomys ferrugineus
(Thomas, 1894), and new data on Abrawayaomys

ruschii Cunha and Cruz, 1979 and Rhagomys rufescens

(Thomas, 1886), three rare species of rodents (Rodentia:
Cricetidae) in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Marcelo Passamani’’,, Ricardo Augusto Serpa Cerboncini*? and José Everaldo de Oliveira

1 Universidade Federal de Lavras, Setor de Ecologia, Cx Postal 37, 37200-000, MG, Brazil.

2 Universidade Federal do Parana, Setor de Ciéncias Biologicas, Programa de Pés-Graduacao em Ecologia e Conservacao. CEP 81531-980. Curitiba,
PR, Brazil.

* Corresponding author. E-mail: mpassamani@ufla.br

ABSTRACT: Herein we report for the first time the occurrence of Phaenomys ferrugineus in the state of Minas Gerais and
present additional data on the geographical distribution of Abrawayaomys ruschii and Rhagomys rufescens in this state.
These latter two species were reported from some localities in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, but their presence in Minas
Gerais state is restricted to few localities. These data reinforce the necessity of surveys over long periods of time and the
use of pitfall traps in order to establish the real geographical distribution of small mammal species and to indicate priority

areas for the conservation of this group of mammals.

Phaenomys ferrugineus (Thomas, 1894), Abrawayaomys
ruschii Cunha and Cruz, 1979 and Rhagomys rufescens
(Thomas, 1886) are rare and poorly known species of
rodents with few records of occurrence in the Atlantic
Forest of south and southeastern Brazil (Rossaneis et al.
2010). Herein we report for the first time the occurrence
of P ferrugineus in the state of Minas Gerais, extending the
range of this species, and present additional data on the
geographical distribution of A. ruschii and R. rufescens.
In Minas Gerais, A. ruschii was recorded in the localities
of the Parque Estadual do Rio Doce (19°30’ S, 42°31’ W -
locality 2, Figure 3), Vicosa (20°47’ S, 42°55’ W - locality
3, Figure 3) and Sado Sebastido das Aguas Claras (20°04’ S,
43°54’ W - locality 5, Figure 3). Rhagomys rufescens was
recorded in Vicosa (20°45’ S, 42°53’ W - locality 2, Figure
5), Juiz de Fora (21°41 S, 43°27’ W - locality 3, Figure 5)
and Pocos de Caldas (21°47’ S, 46°34’ W - locality 6, Figure
5). These three species were collected during inventories
in Minas Gerais (IBAMA license number: 14083-1), mainly
related to the BiotaMinas Project (FAPEMIG), and the
specimens were preserved as skins and skulls housed at
the Mammal Collection of the Universidade Federal de
Lavras (CMUFLA).

Phaenomys ferrugineus is a medium-sized rodent with
a brilliant rust-colored pelage on the upper surface of head
and body, the undersurface and sides lighter yellowish-
white, ears dark brown, with tail dark gray, longer than
head and body (Bonvicino et al. 2001). In the specimen
collected, the dorsum is rust-colored with lighter laterals,
but gray-based hairs. The color of the ventral surface is
yellowish white, with gray-based hairs. The hairs on the
neck are completely white to the base. The coloration of
the dorsal surface of the hind legs is similar to the dorsum.

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The tail is unicolor, dark brown and slightly hairy, and has
an inconspicuous hair pencil at the tip. It is only known
from 11 specimens in three collecting localities: two in
the state of Rio de Janeiro: Sacovao, near Teresdépolis (Vaz
2000, locality 2, Figure 1) and Nova Friburgo (Bonvicino
et al. 2001, locality 1, Figure 1), and one in the state of Sao
Paulo, Serra da Bocaina (Vaz 2000, locality 3, Figure 1).
This is the first record of P ferrugineus for Minas Gerais
state, and represents the westernmost record of this
species, extending its range ca. 60 km northwest from the
closest known locality (Serra da Bocaina). The specimen
CMUFLA 904 was captured during a field inventory using
pitfall traps (plastic buckets of 40-liter volume) connected
to drift fences at Casa Alpina Hotel (22°21’51” S, 44°48'29”
W, locality 4, Figure 1), nearly 14 km to the east of the
municipality of Itamonte (Figure 1), on February 12, 2011.
The area is mainly covered by montane Atlantic Forest,
in good conservation status. The collecting site is located
at 1550 m of altitude, with abundant leaf litter and a
continuous and dense canopy formed by young trees. The
capture site is connected to the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia.
In this area, sampling was carried out from September
2010 to February 2011 along 15 nights, comprising a
total trapping effort of 2160 trap.nights (1928 sherman
trap.nights and 232 pitfall trap.nights in “Y” format). The
captured individual (Figure 2) was an adult male weighting
80 g, head and body length 148 mn, tail length 184 mm,
hind foot length 31 mm and ear length 20 mm (CMUFLA
904). Cranial measurements of this specimen are given in
Table 1. This record reinforces the endemism of the species
in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil (Fonseca et al.
1996; Vaz 2000) and it may be restricted to the region of
the Serra da Mantiqueira and Serra da Bocaina range and

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Passamani et al. | Distribution extension of Phaenomys ferrugineus and new data on Abrawayaomys ruschii and Rhagomys rufescens in Brazil

surrounding areas.

Abrawayaomys ruschii is a remarkable species of
rodent recognized by the presence of dark spiny hairs on
its back and laterals, while its belly is light colored and its
tail is squamous (Cunha and Cruz 1979). It shows unusual
craniodental morphology and it has been assigned to the
Thomasomyini tribe (Pardindas et al. 2009). The species
was first recorded in the state of Espirito Santo (Cunha
and Cruz 1979), with later records for the states of Minas
Gerais (Stallings et al. 1991), Santa Catarina (Cherem et al.
unpublished data) and Rio de Janeiro (Cunha and Rajao
2007; Pereira et al. 2008). The distribution of A. ruschii
also included the province of Missiones in Argentina,
but recent morphological analyses showed that these
populations belong to another species of the genus, A.
chebezi (Pardinas et al. 2009). The specimen of A. ruschii
was captured during a field inventory using pitfall traps
(plastic buckets of 40-liter volume) connected to drift
fences in the municipality of Caeté (20°01'04” S, 43°42’56”
W, locality 4 in Figure 3), Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The
animal was captured in a remnant of Ombrophylous
Atlantic Forest, located near the Parque Estadual da Serra
do Cipé on June 5, 2008. The area is composed of Atlantic
Forest vegetation; the forest is in the intermediate stage of
regeneration, near a stream, with 679 m. of altitude. The
captured individual (CMUFLA 906, Figure 4) was an adult
female weighting 40 g, head and body length 95 mm, hind
foot length 20 mm, ear length 19 mm, and the tail was cut
short when it was captured. The cranial measurements of
the specimen are given in Table 1.

The other species is Rhagomys rufescens, another rare
South American rodent, found in only nine localities in
the states of Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro,
Sao Paulo and Santa Catarina (Geise et al. 2004; Pinheiro

et al. 2004; Percequillo et al. 2004; Steiner-Souza et al.
2008; Percequillo et al. 2011). The presence of a nail on
the hallux in this genus is a unique character state among
New World cricetids (D’Elia et al. 2006). The species has
an uniformly orange dorsum, the belly being slighter, also
orange with gray-based hairs; the tail is longer than head
and body, with short black hairs (Oliveira and Bonvicino
2006). In the specimen collected (CMUFLA 905), the
dorsum is reddish brown, similar to the lateral sides, with
gray-based hairs. The color of the ventral surface is similar
to that of the dorsum, but slightly more orange, with gray-
based hairs, except for a small area on the chin, where the
hairs are entirely orange. The tail is unicolor, brownish
and slightly hairy in its entirety, and has an inconspicuous

50°W 45°W 40°W

21°S

24°S

27°S 4,

FIGURE 1. Map showing collecting localities of Phaenomys ferrugineus,
with new record for the state of Minas Gerais in red circle. Collection
localities: Rio de Janeiro: 1. Nova Friburgo (22°17’S, 42°41’ W); 2. Sacovao,
Teresdpolis (22°22’ S, 42°44’ W); Sao Paulo: 3. Serra da Bocaina (22°50’
S, 44°28’ W); Minas Gerais: 4. Itamonte (22°21'51"S, 44°48’29"W).

FIGURE 2. Phaenomys ferrugineus from municipality of Itamonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil (CMUFLA 904). Photo by Gabrielle Pacheco. Dorsal, ventral and
lateral views of the skull and lateral view of mandible. Photos by Paula Ferracioli.

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Passamani et al. | Distribution extension of Phaenomys ferrugineus and new data on Abrawayaomys ruschii and Rhagomys rufescens in Brazil

hair pencil at the tip. This specimen were collected using
pitfall traps (plastic buckets of 40-liter volume) connected
to drift fences during an inventory in Parque Estadual
da Serra do Papagaio, municipality of Baependi, Minas
Gerais on May 21, 2008. This conservation unit has
22,900 ha of montane Atlantic Forest, and the vegetation of
the area (22°09'12” S, 44°44°09” W, locality 4 in Figure 5)
is located at 1714 m. of altitude and is composed mainly by
forest in medium stage of succession. This locality (Figure
5) was one of the gaps in knowledge of the geographical
distribution of the species, since records were confirmed
in the nearby city of Juiz de Fora (Granzinolli and Motta-
Junior, 2006, locality 3 in Figure 5) and Pocos de Caldas
(locality 6 in Figure 5) in Minas Gerais, as well as Ubatuba
(locality 5 in Figure 5) in Sao Paulo (Steiner-Souza et al.
2008). The captured individual (CMUFLA 905, Figure 6)
was an adult male weighting 16 g, head and body length 65
mm, tail length 105 mm, ear length 12 mm, and hind foot
length 17 mm. The cranial measurements of the specimen
are given in Table 1.

The three species reported here were collected in pitfall
traps in areas above 600 m. of altitude and two of them
(P ferrugineus and R. rufescens) are listed as endangered
species in Brazil (Machado et al. 2008). Moreover,
only one of the three localities where the specimens
were collected in this study is protected in the form of
integral conservation areas (Parque Estadual da Serra do
Papagaio). This reinforces the necessity of surveys over

long periods of time and the incorporation of combined
sampling techniques (e.g., pitfall and live traps) in order
to acquire a deeper understanding of the diversity and
distribution of small mammal species, which can help in
the establishment of priority areas for conservation (Hice
and Schmidly 2002; Umetsu et al. 2006).

50°W 45°wW 40°w

18°S

21°S4>

FIGURE 3. Map showing collecting localities of Abrawayaomys ruschii,
with new record for the state of Minas Gerais in red circle. Collection
localities: Espirito Santo: 1. Reserva Biol6gica de Forno Grande (20°30’
S, 41°06’ W). Minas Gerais: 2. Parque Estadual do Rio Doce (19°30’ S,
42°31’ W); 3. Vticosa (20°47’ S, 42°55’ W); 4. Caeté (20°00’ S, 43°42’ W);
5. Sdo Sebastido das Aguas Claras (20°04’ S, 43°54’ W). Rio de Janeiro: 6.
Aldeia Sapucai (22°53’ S, 44°23’ W). Santa Catarina: 7. Santo Amaro da
Imperatriz (27°41’ S, 48°46’ W).

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FIGURE 4. Dorsal and lateral views of a skin of Abrawayaomys ruschii from the municipality of Caeté, Minas Gerais, Brazil (CMUFLA 906) with dorsal,
ventral and lateral views of the skull and lateral view of mandible. Photos by Paula Ferracioli.

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Passamani et al. | Distribution extension of Phaenomys ferrugineus and new data on Abrawayaomys ruschii and Rhagomys rufescens in Brazil

TABLE 1. Cranial measurements based in Bonvicino et al. (2001), taken
with a digital caliper to the nearest 0.01 mm of the specimens of adult
male Phaenomys ferrugineus (CMUFLA 904), adult female Abrawayaomys
ruschii (CMUFLA 906) and adult male Rhagomys rufescens (CMUFLA 905)
collected in Minas Gerais state.

MEASUREMENT CMUFLA 904 CMUFLA906 CMUFLA 905
Occipito-Nasal Length 35.79 28.15 26.41
Condylo-Incisive Length 29.58 24.45 22.20
Zygomatic Breadth 19.47 15.99 14.62
Braincase Breadth 14.35 13.24 12.28
Palatal Length 14.28 11.57 11.59
Orbital Fossa Length 12.40 9.86 10.12
Diastema Length 8.90 8.98 8.21
Incisive Foramen Length 7.11 5.35 3.81
Molar-Row Length 6.46 4.57 4.24
Palatal Bridge Length 6.31 5.32 6.24
Rostral Breadth 5.88 4.82 3.91
Interorbital Breadth 4.99 5.82 4.92
Palatal Breadth at M1 3.86 3.36 2.61
Incisive Foramen Breadth Sail 1.66 1.37
Zygomatic Plate Length 2.98 3.76 3.51
Greatest Length of Mandible 17.58 16.78 14.03
Mandibular Molar Row 6.80 4.49 4.43

50°W 45°W 40°W

18°S

21°sq 7

27°S

FIGURE 5. Map showing collecting localities of Rhagomys rufescens, with
new record for the state of Minas Gerais in red circle. Collection localities:
Espirito Santo: 1. Santa Teresa (19°56’ S, 40°36’ W). Minas Gerais:
2. Vigosa (20°45’ S, 42°53’ W); 3. Juiz de Fora (21°41’ S, 43°27’ W); 4.
Parque Estadual da Serra do Papagaio (22°09’ S, 44°43’ W); 6. Pocos de
Caldas (21°47’ S, 46°34’ W). Sado Paulo: 5. Parque Estadual da Serra do
Mar, Ubatuba (23°26’ S, 45°04’ W); 7. Atibaia (23°10’ S, 46°31’ W); 8.
Reserva Florestal Morro Grande, Caucaia do Alto (23°41’ S, 46°58’ W); 9.
Ribeirdo Grande (24°10’ S, 48°21’ W). Santa Catarina: 10. Mono, Parque
Natural Municipal Nascentes do Garcia, Indaial (27°01’ S, 49°14’ W).

and lateral views of the skull and lateral view of mandible. Photos by Paula Ferracioli.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: We would like to thank to all the people who
helped us during the fieldwork, especially, Adriana Gouveia, Andréa O.
Mesquita, Daniel Rocha, Maria Luiza, Mariana F. Rocha, Gabrielle Pacheco
and Renan Gregorio. We thank to Brazilian Institute of Environment
and Renewable Natural Resource (IBAMA license number: 14083-1)
and Solange L. Boéchat for logistic help and for the license to collect
specimens in Parque Estadual da Serra do Papagaio (IEF) and Instituto
Alto-Montana da Serra Fina for logistical support in Itamonte. Yuri Leite
and Leonora Costa helped in the identification of specimens, and Paula
Ferracioli with cranial photographs. This study was funded by Fundac¢ao
de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG).

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RECEIVED: June 2011

LAST REVISED: November 2011

ACCEPTED: November 2011

PUBLISHED ONLINE: December 2011

EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Ana Paula Carmignotto

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