Animal Info - Brazilian Arboreal Mouse

(Other Names: Rato-do-Mato-Vermelho)

Rhagomys rufescens

Status: Critically Endangered

1. Profile
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, History of Distribution, Threats and Reasons for Decline)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Size, Habitat, Behavior)
5. References

Profile

The Brazilian arboreal mouse's head and body length is about 94 mm (3.7"), and its tail length is about the same. Based on its external features, it appears suited to an arboreal life. This mouse has been reported only from Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil. Its survival is in jeopardy because it is only known from a small area in one of the most rapidly developing parts of South America.

Tidbits

*** The Brazilian arboreal mouse is known from only a few specimens.

Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

1994: Endangered
1996 - 2004: Critically Endangered (Criteria: B1+2c) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where the Brazilian Arboreal Mouse Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs in Brazil (IUCN 2004).

History of Distribution:

The Brazilian arboreal mouse has been reported only from Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil (Emmons & Feer 1997).

Distribution Map (11 Kb) (InfoNatura)

Threats and Reasons for Decline:

The Brazilian arboreal mouse is only known from a small area in one of the most rapidly developing parts of South America (Nowak 1999).

Data on Biology and Ecology

Size:

The Brazilian arboreal mouse's head and body length is about 94 mm (3.7"), and its tail length is about the same.

Habitat:

The Brazilian arboreal mouse is found in the Atlantic Forest Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl. 2005).

Behavior:

Based on its external features, the Brazilian arboreal mouse appears suited to an arboreal life.

References

Cons. Intl. 2005, Emmons & Feer 1997, InfoNatura, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a, IUCN 2004, Nowak 1999, Nowak & Paradiso 1983

Top of Page | Search This Site

Last modified: March 11, 2005;