Loading...
Speciation in the Brazilian spiny rats : (genus Proechimys, family, Echimydae)
Moojen, João
Moojen, João
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
The spiny-rats included in the genus Proechimys are common in almost every forest of South America above the Tropic of Capricorn, and in Central America northward to approximately 12 degrees N, in Nicaragua. In size and proportions they are similar to the brown rat but actually they belong to a very different suborder of rodents—the Hystricomorpha. The hystricomorphs are represented in South America by a large variety of animals, capybaras, agoutis and cavies being the most common.
Sixty odd names have been given to species and subspecies of Proechimys in the last hundred and fifty years and no serious revision of the taxonomy of the genus was undertaken in the last century. The purpose of the present work is to provide means of understanding species and subspecies within the genus and to describe the different kinds known to occur within the confines of Brazil.
At first it was planned to utilize the collections of the North American museums together with those from similar institutions in Brazil for a complete revision of the genus, which is greatly needed. Reduction in scope of my work resulted from inability to remain longer in the United States where most of the critical material in located, and the inability to study at fist hand to the types in European museums.
Description
Ph. D. University of Kansas, Zoology 1947
Date
1947-12-31
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Kansas
Collections
Files
Loading...
moojen_1947_3427022.pdf
Adobe PDF, 14.6 MB