Article of the day for August 20, 2017
The Article of the day for August 20, 2017 is Lundomys.
Lundomys molitor, commonly known as the greater marsh rat, is a semiaquatic rat species from southeastern South America. Its distribution is now restricted to Uruguay and nearby Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, but it previously ranged northward into Minas Gerais, Brazil, and southward into eastern Argentina. It was first described in 1887 by Danish zoologist Herluf Winge, who reviewed materials collected by Peter Wilhelm Lund in the caves of Lagoa Santa in Minas Gerais. The Argentine form may have been distinct from the form that now lives in Brazil and Uruguay. It is a large rodent, with a head-and-body length averaging 193 mm (7.6 in). Its tail is longer than the head and body combined. Its coat, yellow-brown at the sides, is long, dense, and soft. It is an excellent swimmer, propelled by large hindfeet with conspicuous interdigital webbing. It builds nests above the water supported by reeds. It is not currently threatened, reflecting a relatively wide distribution and the absence of evidence for a decline in populations.
Lundomys molitor, commonly known as the greater marsh rat, is a semiaquatic rat species from southeastern South America. Its distribution is now restricted to Uruguay and nearby Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, but it previously ranged northward into Minas Gerais, Brazil, and southward into eastern Argentina. It was first described in 1887 by Danish zoologist Herluf Winge, who reviewed materials collected by Peter Wilhelm Lund in the caves of Lagoa Santa in Minas Gerais. The Argentine form may have been distinct from the form that now lives in Brazil and Uruguay. It is a large rodent, with a head-and-body length averaging 193 mm (7.6 in). Its tail is longer than the head and body combined. Its coat, yellow-brown at the sides, is long, dense, and soft. It is an excellent swimmer, propelled by large hindfeet with conspicuous interdigital webbing. It builds nests above the water supported by reeds. It is not currently threatened, reflecting a relatively wide distribution and the absence of evidence for a decline in populations.
