Megaoryzomys Lenglet and Coppois 1979

Megaoryzomys Lenglet and Coppois 1979

Megaoryzomys Lenglet and Coppois 1979, Bull. Acad. R. Belgique, Classe des Sciences, ser 5., 65: 635.

Type Species: Megalomys curioi Niethammer 1964

Species and subspecies: 1 species:

Species Megaoryzomys curioi (Niethammer 1964)

Discussion: Sigmodontinae incertae sedis. Originally described under Megalomys, an oryzomyine taxon endemic to the Lesser Antilles. Morphological contrasts with Megalomys and biogeographic implausibilty of that identity addressed by Steadman and Ray (1982), who instead emphasized its similarities to large species of extant Thomasomys and Rhipidomys and formally allied it under Thomasomyini. While not an oryzomyine per se, as demonstrated by Steadman and Ray, the relationships and tribal affiliation of the unfortunately christened Megaoryzomys deserve reconsideration within a broader sampling of New World cricetids and from a cladistic perspective (also see remarks and comparisons by Hutterer and Oromi, 1993, and Leo L. and Gardner, 1993). Hutterer and Oromi (1993) considered that the presence and distinctiveness of Megaoryzomys suggested three independent colonizations of the Galapágos Isls by cricetid rodents, Nesoryzomys and Oryzomys comprising the other two.