Akodon is a genus consisting of South American grass mice. They mostly occur south of the Amazon Basin and along the Andes north to Venezuela, but are absent from much of the basin itself, the far south of the continent, and the lowlands west of the Andes. Akodon is one of the most species-rich genera of Neotropical rodents. Species of Akodon are known to inhabit a variety of habitats from tropical and tropical moist forests to altiplano and desert. Fossils are known from the late Pliocene onwards.[2]

Akodon
Temporal range: Late Pliocene - Recent
Akodon azarae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Sigmodontinae
Tribe: Akodontini
Genus: Akodon
Meyen, 1833
Type species
Akodon boliviensis
Meyen, 1833
Species

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Synonyms[1]
  • Acodon Agassiz, 1846
  • Axodon Giebel, 1855
  • Chalcomys Thomas, 1916
  • Hypsimys Thomas, 1918
  • Microxus Thomas, 1909
  • Plectomys Borchert and Hansen, 1983 (nomen nudum)

Taxonomy

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Akodon is the largest genus in the tribe Akodontini. Three of its synonymsChalcomys, Hypsimys, and particularly Microxus—have sometimes been regarded as distinct genera. Neomicroxus was separated in 2013. Previously associated with Akodon, the genera Abrothrix, Deltamys, Necromys, Thalpomys, and Thaptomys are currently recognized as distinct. Some species of the tribe Abrotrichini are called akodons.

The genus contains the following species:[3]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ In 2010, this species was split from A. lutescens to include the formerly recognized A. aliquantulus.[4]
  2. ^ This species includes the formerly recognized A. molinae.[5]
  3. ^ a b This species was split from A. simulator in 2008.[5]
  4. ^ Newly described in 2005.[6]
  5. ^ Newly described in 2010.[4] This species includes Akodon viridescens,[7] another new species described in 2010.[8]
  6. ^ This species includes the previously recognized A. leucolimnaeus[4] and A. oenos.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Musser and Carleton, 2005, p. 1093
  2. ^ González, E.M.; Pardiñas, U.F.J. (2002). "Deltamys kempi". Mammalian Species (711): Number 711: pp. 1–4. doi:10.1644/1545-1410(2002)711<0001:DK>2.0.CO;2. S2CID 198968620.
  3. ^ Musser and Carleton, 2005, pp. 1092–1100
  4. ^ a b c Jayat et al., 2010
  5. ^ a b Braun et al., 2008
  6. ^ Pardiñas et al., 2005
  7. ^ Braun et al., 2010
  8. ^ D'Elía et al., 2011
  9. ^ Pardiñas et al., 2011

Literature cited

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