Abrothrix xanthorhina

095.

Yellow-nosed Soft-haired Mouse

Abrothrix xanthorhina

French: Abrothrix a nez jaune / German: Gelbnasen-Andenfeldmaus / Spanish: Ratén de pelaje suave de hocico dorado

Other common names: Yellow-nosed Akodont

Taxonomy. Mus xanthorhinus Waterhouse, 1837, Hardy Peninsula, Hoste I, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena Region, Tierra del Fuego Province, Chile.

Abrothrix xanthorhina is in the subgenus Angelomys. Several nominal forms have been subsumed under A. xanthorhina, including among those originally proposed as species, Akodon (Akodon) lanoi (with type locality in de los Estados Island) and Akodon (Akodon) hershkovitzi (Capitan Aracena Island). Taxonomy of A. xanthorhina remains poorly explored and needs an urgent fresh integrative approach. Monotypic.

Distribution. Island territory of extreme S Chile and Argentina.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 96 mm, tail 60 mm, ear 16 mm, hindfoot 22 mm; weight 25 g (mean values from adult males and females). See general characters of the genus under the Long-haired Soft-haired Mouse (A. longipilis) account. The Yellow-nosed Softhaired Mouse is a small species of Abrothrix, with tail shorter than head-body length; color is predominantly rufescent, except underparts that are usually light colored and contrasted; sides of nose are ocherous tawny, not always but frequently contrasted; upper side of hindfeet, at least medially, are always pale or often quite bright ocherous tawny.

Habitat. Nothofagus (Nothofagaceae) forest to Magellan tundra and moorland.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Trapping records of Yellow-nosed Soft-haired Mice indicate reproductive activity in late austral summer (February-March).

Activity patterns. The Yellow-nosed Soft-haired Mouse is terrestrial and largely nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Yellow-nosed Soft-haired Mouse is ubiquitous throughoutits distribution. It uses well-used runways, somewhat like those of northern voles, and can be found under logs and roots. Densities reached 63 ind/ha in southern Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List as separate species from the Olive Soft-haired Mouse (A. olivacea), which is classified as Least Concern.

Bibliography. Chebez et al. (2014), Lessa et al. (2010), Mann (1978), Marconi (1988), Milne-Edwards (1890), Osgood (1943a), Pardinas, Teta, D'Elia & Lessa (2011), Patterson, Gallardo & Freas (1984), Patterson, Smith & Teta (2015), Pearson & Smith (1999), Pine (1976), Pine et al. (1978), Smith et al. (2001).