Abrocoma budini Thomas 1920

6.

Budin’s Chinchilla Rat

Abrocoma budini

French: Abrocome de Budin / German: Catamarca-Chinchillaratte / Spanish: Rata chinchilla de Budin

Taxonomy. Abrocoma budini Thomas, 1920,

“Otro Cerro, Catamarca. Alt. 3000 m,” Argentina. Restricted by U. F.J. Pardinasef al. 2007 to “about 18 km NNW Chumbicha, now considered an abandoned ranch at the southern end of Sierra de Ambato, NE Chumbicha, Capayan, Catamarca, Argentina, 28°45’S, 66°17°'W, 2023 m. ”

Abrocoma budini is one of six species in the “ A. cinerea complex” that were formerly classified as subspecies. Monotypic.

Distribution. NW Argentina (Catamarca), known only from the type locality, Sierra de Ambato, about 18 km NNW Chumbicha.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 197-203 mm, tail 130-144 mm, ear 24-25 mm, hindfoot 29-5-31 mm. Upper parts of Budin’s Chinchilla Rat are uniform brownish gray, with back slightly darker than sides. Under parts are grayish drab, with hairs dark slate-gray basally and pale attips; throat is darker gray than chest and belly. Midline of chest has a sternal gland, with white hairs that form a contrasting white patch. Tail is bicolored, dark gray above and paler whitish gray below. Feet are whitish above. Greatest length of skull is 48-49 mm.

Habitat. Thereis little specific information for this species, but O. Thomas noted that the original collector, E. Budin, found it “among rocks, in the clefts of which it lives” at elevations of ¢.3000 m.

Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Only four specimens of Budin’s Chinchilla Rat, collected in 1919, are known.

Bibliography. Braun & Mares (2002), Pardinas et al. (2007), Thomas (1920a).