Oryzorictes tetradactylus Milne-Edwards & A. Grandidier 1882

8.

Four-toed Rice Tenrec

Oryzorictes tetradactylus

French: Oryzoricte a quatre doigts / German: Vierzehen-Reiswuhler / Spanish: Tenrec de los arrozales tetradactilo

Other common names: Four-toed Mole Tenrec

Taxonomy. Oryzorictes tetradactylus Milne-Edwards & A. Grandidier, 1882,

“du plateau d’Emirne.” Restricted by P. Viette in 1991 to Imerina, Madagascar.

Oryzorictes tetradactylus was formerly considered sufficiently morphologically distinct from O. hova to represent either a separate genus or subgenus, Nesoryctes. Monotypic.

Distribution. Central Highlands and E Madagascar (Andringitra National Park); also recorded from the vicinity of Antsirabe, Vinanitelo, and Ikongo in the E, but these localities are imprecise and therefore not mapped.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 106-122 mm, tail 42-49 mm, ear 15 mm and 17 mm, hindfoot 15 mm and 16 mm; weight 29-5 g and 31 g. Dorsal pelage of the Four-toed Rice Tenrec is long, soft, and dense, with long, brown to dark brown guard hairs;

venter is lighter. Head is brown dorsally, with light buff lateral stripe along margins of mouth and underside of head. Rostrum is long; rhinarium is naked; and eyes and ears small, largely concealed in pelage. Forefeet have four toes; pollex is absent; second to fourth digits have long, stout claws; and fifth digit is short, with short claw. Middle three digits of hindfeet have moderately long claws. Tail is short relative to head-body length, bicolored, and covered with long bristle hairs.

Habitat. Humid montane forests, heathlands, and highland marshes at elevations of 2050-2450 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Four-toed Rice Tenrecs are fossorial and terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. There is no recent information on extent of occurrence, population status, ecological requirements, or conservation threats to the Four-toed Rice Tenrec. It is known mostly from specimens collected toward the end of the 20™ century and from imprecise localities that might no longer have suitable habitat. The only known specimens from Andringitra National Park were collected in 1970.

Bibliography. Eisenberg & Gould (1970), Goodman (2003), Goodman, Raxworthy & Jenkins (1996), Goodman, Soarimalala et al. (2013), Olson & Goodman (2003), Salton & Sargis (2009), Soarimalala & Goodman (2011), Stephenson et al. (2016h), Viette (1991).